UFC, Onnit, Brendan Schaub and Tito Ortiz among those who received relief loans from COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the world economy. A recent study by the University of Southern California found that real losses in the U.S. gross domestic product can range from $ 3.2 trillion to $ 4.8 trillion in two years. The study also found that job losses can range from 14.7% to 23.8% and can affect 36.5 million American workers. The United States government helped businesses in need through the Coronavirus Aid, Aid and Economic Security Act (CARES), which was signed on March 27, 2020.

The United States government’s Small Business Administration (SBA) provided companies with two types of relief from the COVID-19 pandemic through the CARES Act. These two types of relief were the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and the Pay Check Protection Program (PPP).

EIDL is a low interest loan with an APR rate of 3.75% or APR of 2.75% for non-profit organizations. Companies that receive an EIDL loan have 30 years to repay that loan. (For more detailed details about the EIDL loan program, click here.)

The SBA provided PPP funds to companies as an incentive to keep workers on payroll during the COVID-19 pandemic. These loans are forgivable (they do not need to be repaid) if “all employee retention criteria are met and funds used for eligible expenses”, according to the SBA. (For more information on PPP, click here.)

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the MMA world from top to bottom. Almost all MMA promotions have changed their business practices and health and safety programs. Gyms of all sizes also felt the effects of the pandemic and had to adapt to new requirements and procedures. There was also a very real human cost to the pandemic in the MMA world, as one of the most respected figures in the sport, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov died of complications from COVID-19.

Many companies connected to the MMA sought government assistance to stay in business through the CARES Act. Bloody Elbow used several tracking databases to search for these companies and compiled a list of loans and the dates and amounts each company received under the CARES Act through the EIDL and PPP programs.

Below is a list of companies classified by the quantity that the SBA has provided them. This is an ongoing project and not a complete list. As Bloody Elbow discovers additional information, we will update our list.