New sponsorship deals signed by Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in 2021

           Ultimate Fighting Championship is one of the premier Mixed Martial Art (MMA) championships, with some of the most prominent fighters competing for the promotion. UFC is owned by Endeavor Group Holdings, Silver Lake Partners, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, and MSD Capitals LP. It is run by Dana White, who is an American businessman and the current president of UFC.

            UFC has grown into a very attractive sports entertainment brand under his stewardship, with big companies fighting to become partners and sponsor UFC. Some top clothing brands, consumer goods companies, and automotive companies have worked hard for exclusive UFC deals. Let’s take a look at the top 5 sponsorship deals made by UFC:

Love Hemp – UFC announced a multi-million bumper dollar, multi-year deal right in the middle of one of the worst pandemic in our history. The agreement, which kicks off in June 2021, will run for five years and see Love Hemp get exclusive access to UFC’s physical and digital assets to advertise their Cannabidiol (CBD) products CBD oil to CBD edibles and CBD cosmetics, and more. 

           Tony Calamita, the CEO of Love Hemp, said the following about this sponsorship deal: 

“We believe that the marketing opportunities this relationship provides can put Love Hemp in the top tier of major international CBD brands. We intend to use UFC’s global reach to position Love Hemp as a trusted, premium CBD brand which we will begin to roll out globally over wider markets.

Love Hemp is looking forward to working with UFC over the next five years, and beyond. This partnership kickstarts our strategy aimed at cementing Love Hemp as a globally recognised brand.”

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Stake.com – UFC also announced a significant deal for its Latin America market (excluding Brazil), signing up with a cryptocurrency-based betting and gambling company, Stake. This deal came into the picture after Stake signed UFC Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya as its first brand ambassador in January of this year. The deal kicked off on the 3rd of March, with UFC looking to improve users’ betting experience with this deal.

           Nick Smith, the UFC Vice President of Global Partnerships, said this about the deal:

“We’re thrilled to partner with an exciting and emerging platform like Stake.com to offer exclusive digital and social content to our fans, as well as an innovative gaming experience. UFC prides itself on being innovators, and Stake.com is a unique way for fans to experience the action and excitement of UFC.”

Migu – In yet another landmark agreement, UFC has struck a multi-year content deal with Migu. Migu is a streaming subsidiary of China Mobile, which has become the official distributor for all live MMA events in China. This agreement includes an annual schedule of at least 12 PPVs and 30 fight nights. Apart from this, UFC will create exclusive content (shows and documentaries) for the Migu video app, fitness content for the Migu Fitness app, and stream the Asian edition of Dana White’s Contender series, a show focusing on up-and-coming MMA talents.

           This is what Dana White, the President of UFC, said about this deal:

“There has never been more talent, more fans, and more energy and momentum for UFC in China than right now. This partnership with Migu is going to take UFC to the next level. I couldn’t be more excited to work with Migu to do amazing things to grow this sport and deliver incredible content to the best fans in all of sports.”

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DraftsKings – UFC signed a multi-year deal with DraftsKings, making it their official and first-ever sportsbook and daily fantasy partner across the USA and Canada. According to ESPN, this deal is worth $350 million, with $250 million for media and marketing obligations and another $100 million for cash rights fees. UFC will now show live betting odds, shared by DraftsKing, during its broadcast of its events.

           This is what Dana White, the President of UFC, said about this deal:

“This is a massive deal that will benefit UFC, DraftKings, and most of all the fans. This is the most important deal we’ve ever done to increase engagement with our fans and reach new ones, and I’m looking forward to all the exciting things we’re going to do with DraftKings over the next few years.”

TikTok – UFC signed a multi-year deal with TikTok to host exclusive live-streamed content on its app. UFC’s TikTok account, which already has 6.7M followers, will post weekly behind-the-scenes content with featured fighters, including before and after fights reaction. Content will also include engagement with UFC fighters, behind-the-scenes footage, and snippets from fights.

           This is what David Shaw, UFC Senior Vice President of International and Content, said about this deal:

 “This partnership with TikTok is a tremendous addition to UFC’s content distribution ecosystem. We want to be everywhere our fans are consuming content and TikTok continues to break new ground in reaching a diverse, global audience. This collaboration is a great way to drive awareness to our tent pole live events while delivering compelling content to our fans, 24/7.”