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The UFC has entered into partnership with IBM, marking a major consolidation in its use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The UFC and IBM have both officially confirmed the global AI partnership.
Per IBM, UFC, and TKO Holdings, which is the UFC's parent company, IBM has become the UFC's first-ever official AI partner. They've created an Insights Engine together, built with IBM's data and AI platform, titled watsonx. It promises next-gen fight analysis across various platforms. The IBM-branded insights and analytics will be featured during UFC broadcasts and events.
Jonathan Adashek, who is IBM's Senior VP (Vice President) of Marketing and Communications, indicated that IBM's watsonx and Granite models would tremendously boost the UFC's digital functionality and utilize the vast fight library data. He foresees the deal benefitting "current and future fans."
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UFC data collected over the years would be coupled with the additional data amassed by IBM's systems for an even greater assessment of UFC fighters and fights.
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Grant Norris-Jones, who is TKO's Head of Global Partnerships, expressed excitement over the collaboration. Hailing it as a great step for UFC and MMA fans, Norris-Jones stated:
"This partnership with IBM is one of the most significant milestones for UFC and a game changer for how fans will experience our sport ... Together, we're pioneering a product to revolutionize analytics and information in live sports."
Moreover, Alon Cohen, who's the Senior VP of the UFC's Research and Development team, underlined that AI and IBM watsonx are synonymous. Cohen reiterated that the UFC plans on unraveling the results of the partnership to it's fans in the months to come:
"UFC has been working on the concept of the Insights Engine for several years, and now we finally have the right partner in IBM with the depth of expertise in AI to bring it to life."
UFC offered a glimpse of futuristic fight viewing in 2024 before IBM partnership kicks off in 2025
The AI deal with IBM marks the first time that the UFC has opened up to this avenue in its marketing strategy. Apparently, IBM's Granite large language models would also be used to give fans greater depth and timely information about UFC athletes and matches.
That would include fighters' tendencies, unique discernments, predictions of fight outcomes, methods of wins, etc. The data would be displayed live on-screen. Built by the UFC's R&D department and IBM, the UFC Insights Engine is expected to debut in early 2025.
Incidentally, the UFC 306 (aka 'Riyadh Season Noche UFC') event that transpired at the Las Vegas Sphere in Sept. 2024 featured a glimpse of futuristic fight viewing. The card's fighters donned state-of-the-art mouthpieces that collected heart rate data, which was displayed on-screen during the fights.
Furthermore, speaking to TNT Sports, UFC CEO and president Dana White recently highlighted that he's spoken to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to potentially improve the UFC rankings system with AI.
Check out White's comments below:
