WWE and UFC staff say they must fly into a war zone in Saudi Arabia or risk getting fired before Christmas, and not one email has explained the plan

Some WWE and UFC staff members say they are being pushed to travel to Saudi Arabia for upcoming TKO Group Holdings events despite ongoing missile and drone attacks in the region. Several employees said they are considering refusing the assignments even if it means getting fired before the holidays, as reported by Uncrowned.

Workers claim they have not received enough information about safety measures or contingency plans for upcoming travel, including the UFC Fight Night event scheduled for December 5 in Riyadh. One employee said, “Not one email has gone out saying, ‘Here are the details and the plans for December 5th.’ That’s crazy. They don’t tell you anything. They just throw it at you. How about a backup plan? How about a safety letter?”

The concerns stem from a series of attacks in Riyadh. A missile strike at King Khalid International Airport in October reportedly killed 13 people and injured more than 300 others. Another missile reportedly struck a building in the city’s financial district just hours after WWE Crown Jewel ended, though WWE wrestlers had already left the country.

Staff say the pressure comes down to earnings

One staff member said the pressure to keep the events going appears to be driven by financial targets. “If we don’t do the shows in Saudi Arabia or [United Arab Emirates] or Doha or wherever we are going, then our fourth-quarter earnings will be off and our shareholders aren’t going to get their money,” the employee said. “So it’s all about greed. They don’t care about anybody’s well-being. The level of greed with this company is so gross.”

Another anonymous source criticized the company’s internal culture as more events approach, including a Zuffa Boxing event planned for November 14. “They don’t f****** care about you one bit,” the source said. “People are just getting tired of the way they’re getting treated. They get treated like s*** and everybody’s tired of it. The lack of communication, the greed, the lack of appreciation, people are just sick of it.”

TKO president Mark Shapiro has reportedly tried to address the concerns, saying the company would not hesitate to cancel events if conditions became too dangerous. He said business is secondary to employee safety. Staff members remain skeptical about how that decision will be made amid Houthi strikes in southern Saudi Arabia.

The company has made safety adjustments before. After Crown Jewel, WWE reportedly allowed wrestlers to leave the country early and had announcers call the event remotely from the United States. Those moves have led some employees to question why others are still expected to travel.

One staff member said, “Everyone just can’t believe this is a choice that they are being forced to make, fly into a war zone or risk getting fired before Christmas.”