A former UFC executive has revealed the behind-the-scenes story of how a lucrative streaming deal between ADCC and UFC Fight Pass collapsed due to alleged inappropriate behavior by a UFC executive toward Mo Jassim‘s girlfriend.
Ant Evans, who served as head of UFC media relations from 2006 to 2019 and later helped run Fight Pass, detailed the incident during a recent podcast appearance, shedding light on one of the most damaging executive blunders in UFC’s streaming history.
“FloGrappling their anchor is ADCC and their anchor is about to go over to the UFC. This is a monster move.”
Evans and his colleague Stephen Tecci had been aggressively pursuing high-profile grappling content for Fight Pass.
“Me and Stephen Tecci wanted to go after FloGrappling in the worst way. We wanted just to smash them and we needed to get the crown jewel.”
The deal would have given UFC Fight Pass exclusive rights to ADCC, widely considered the most prestigious grappling tournament in the world. A press release had already been prepared announcing the partnership.
Central to the controversy was Crowley Sullivan, who had been brought in as Evans and Tecci’s new boss despite what Evans described as a complete lack of relevant experience. Evans was scathing in his assessment of Sullivan’s qualifications:
“First he doesn’t know what OTT is… It’s over the top. It’s like Netflix. It’s just an industry term to mean streaming service. He doesn’t know what OTT is. He doesn’t know what churn is, which is the amount of every month you gain some viewers but you lose some viewers from the bottom.”
Even more damaging was Sullivan’s ignorance of combat sports. Evans recounted an incident where Sullivan was in a meeting with former UFC middleweight contender Chael Sonnen to discuss a potential grappling match with Anderson Silva:
“Not only does Crowley want to just say, ‘We’ve already talked about that for five minutes. Let’s get on with the agenda’… He didn’t know it was Chael Sonnen in the room.”
According to Evans, Sullivan had been hired primarily due to his friendship with a top WME executive, not his qualifications.
Sullivan‘s tenure in the UFC ended in May of 2024.
The meeting took place after the ADCC deal had been announced. Mo Jassim and his team traveled to meet with UFC Fight Pass executives to finalize the partnership details.
According to Evans, who heard the story from multiple sources within hours of it happening, Sullivan made inappropriate advances toward Jassim’s girlfriend during the business meeting. While Evans was careful not to provide specific details, he indicated the behavior was severe enough to immediately end the business relationship.
“Somebody tried to [proposition] my girlfriend in front of me for money. I probably wouldn’t want to be in business with them anymore. And that’s what happened.”
Evans mentioned hearing various versions of what exactly transpired, including suggestions that Sullivan may have mistaken Jassim’s girlfriend for a s*x worker or made inappropriate propositions.
“I’ve heard that version too.”
The collapse of the ADCC deal was catastrophic for UFC Fight Pass’s grappling ambitions. What should have been a major competitive victory against FloGrappling instead became an embarrassing failure that damaged relationships throughout the grappling community.
Evans noted that Sullivan was going through personal issues at the time, mentioning that he was “either divorced recently or was going through a divorce or about to divorced.” However, Evans showed little sympathy for Sullivan’s behavior, calling him “slimy” and saying he “never should have been there.”
The incident highlighted broader problems with UFC’s hiring practices during this period, according to Evans:
“UFC needs to hire… One of the things that made UFC so effective in the real growth era is everybody almost everybody was a fight person or if they weren’t a fight person they could adapt.”
The ADCC incident was not an isolated example of Sullivan’s poor judgment, according to Evans. He described Sullivan as someone who would keep employees working late even when he knew they were being let go the next day, and who consistently took credit for the work of others, particularly Stephen Tecci.
“Really Stephen Tecci ran Fight Pass… he ran it by himself with Crowley Sullivan taking credit for his work and his and the team’s work. That’s what happened.”
The failed ADCC partnership represents a significant missed opportunity for UFC Fight Pass in the competitive streaming landscape. ADCC remains one of the most prestigious events in grappling and its absence from Fight Pass likely contributed to FloGrappling’s continued presence in the space.
For Mo Jassim and ADCC, the incident reinforced the importance of working with partners who understand and respect the sport and its community. The tournament has continued to thrive through other partnerships and its own streaming initiatives.
