UFC sponsors: Which brands are currently sponsoring the world's premier MMA organization?

Over the years, UFC sponsors have become an important aspect of the UFC broadcast experience. A UFC event would definitely feel incomplete for hardcore fans without a mention of the sponsors - whether it is Bud Light, Draft kings or Prime. But how many companies or brands sponsor the UFC event?

UFC is the largest MMA promotion in the world by a wide margin. The control exerted by the Las Vegas based company on the sport is unmatched. It is one of the reasons why it never has a shortage of people willing to sponsor them and reach a massive chunk of combat sports athletes across the world. As a result, the UFC has plenty of lucrative sponsorship deals with several industry giants.

Two of its broadcast partners, ESPN and BT Sport are among the biggest UFC sponsors. BT Sport reserves the right to broadcast UFC events in the UK and Ireland. Both these countries are a sizable market for the UFC outside of the United States.

The UFC’s deal with ESPN, its official broadcast partner in the USA, spans seven years. It amounts to $300 million per year and gives ESPN the exclusive rights to broadcast UFC pay-per-view events.

The world has been riding a wave of cryptocurrencies and the UFC has worked closely with several platforms over the years. Crypto.com became one of the UFC's sponsors when they signed a $175 million deal with the UFC, making them the UFC’s ‘Cryptocurrency Platform Partner.’

Sports betting has become prevalent in the western markets and it forms a sizable chunk of the sports entertainment economy. DraftKings became the UFC’s first official sportsbook partner when they signed a five-year deal with the MMA promotion.

The whopping $350 million deal is split between cash and marketing in undisclosed percentages. One of the most iconic aspects of DraftKing’s presence in the UFC broadcast is the official clock that has been praised by the fans.

Apart from these, notable brands like Prime, Kudo snacks and Venum are also UFC sponsors. Launched as the joint venture between social media influencer-turned-professional boxers Logan Paul and KSI, Prime is a sports drink brand. The UFC’s deal with Prime makes it the ‘Official Sports Drink’ of the UFC.

Prime branding is seen on the weigh-in scales, blue and red corners of the octagon as well as social media content and UFC PI. Meanwhile, Venum became the official outfitting partner of the UFC after the Reebok deal expired.

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Bud Light back in the list of UFC sponsors

Bud Light and Anheuser-Busch were the UFC sponsors for a long time before the promotion signed a deal with Modelo. But the UFC has taken Bud Light on board once again.

The deal was signed after Bud Light faced massive consumer backlash due to a controversial advertising campaign. It featured transgender social media star Dylan Mulvaney. A large section of the society rebelled against the campaign and boycotted Bud Light.

However, UFC CEO Dana White explained the UFC’s stance on the company and justified putting Bud Light back in the list of UFC sponsors. During an interview with Fox Sports, White listed the positive achievements of Anheuser-Busch. He said:

“Going into this deal - I know all the controversy and everything else. But for myself, going into the long term deal with another sponsor, I wanted it to be somebody that I am actually aligned with. People were upset with what they did but I’m looking at all the good things that they do.”

White added:

“They employed 65,000 Americans, they have thousands of military veterans that work for them. They spend 700 million dollars a year with US farmers using their crops to make their products and many, many other great things that Anheuser-Busch has done in this country”.

Watch Dana White discuss the deal in the video below:

Dana White has refused to bow down in front of UFC sponsors on moral grounds several times in spite of the massive value added by them to the UFC brand. During a recent appearance on comedian Theo Von's podcast, White told that he once told the sponsor to 'f*** off' for asking him to take down a pro-Trump video.