By Cassandra Cousineau of LVSportsBiz.com
In the middle of its biggest fight week of this pandemic year, Endeavor-owned Ultimate Fighting Championship agreed to a fight kit deal with cryptocurrency platform Crypto.com.
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed publicly, but reports estimate it’s worth $175 million over 10 years.
Las Vegas-based UFC Wednesday morning announced the partnership with Crypto.com as the promotion’s “official fight kit partner.” It’s the first time the promotion has sold the global rights to that category.
“This is a partnership between two companies that are the best at what they do,” UFC president Dana White said in a news release. “No company has done more to grow the popularity of combat sports than UFC, and now we’re one of the biggest sports brands on the planet. We can help Crypto.com reach more people around the world through the strength of our brand.”
The multi-year agreement will give Crypto.com a brand presence on fight kit items used throughout UFC including apparel (shorts, top bras, walk-out hoodies) worn by fighters during competition, and clothing worn by the training staff.
In addition, Crypto.com will also own the rights to UFC’s newly-created “Cryptocurrency Platform Partner” sponsorship category.
In a statement, Crypto.com co-founder and CEO Kris Marszalek called the deal with UFC a “historic moment,” adding it would help the sport “accelerate the world’s transition to cryptocurrency.” Added Marszalek, “This is just the beginning of a long relationship with UFC, and we’re looking forward to what we will build together.”
Cryptocurrency has been a real opportunity of focus for the promotion. This year especially, UFC actively explored the industry, entering into several partnerships with crypto and blockchain-related startups in the spring. In May, plans to debut a UFC fan token in collaboration with blockchain rewards app Socios.com and tokenization platform Chili were announced. Previously, the UFC signed a partnership with crypto-enabled online sportsbook Stake.com to create unique digital UFC content for Stake’s customers.
Apparel manufacturer Venum is also UFC’s existing partner and also has its logo on the fighters’ kits. Venum will continue to design the fight kits athletes wear in competition as well as the fan apparel available for purchase. Crypto will play no role in the design or manufacturing.
This is not Crypto.com’s first such sponsorship. The firm recently struck a deal with Formula One (F1) for a reported $100 million, becoming its first official cryptocurrency sponsor and NFT partner.
UFC moves faster than any other combat sports promotion in the world. The sponsorship deal begins Saturday at UFC 264 in Las Vegas, which is headlined by Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor 3.