Meta has signed a multi-year contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to become the “official fan technology partner.” This means that we were able to further integrate the organization’s mixed martial arts matches across quests and other platforms.
The UFC says it will be leveraging Meta’s key technologies to provide unprecedented engagement with hundreds of millions of UFC fans around the world, including Meta AI, Meta Glasses, Meta Quest, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and threads.
Additionally, the UFC says that Meta will become the “official AI glasses partner” and will work with UFC to creatively use groundbreaking AI glasses at UFC events.
“We’re committed to providing a range of services to our customers,” said Dana White, UFC president and CEO. “Meta has the best mind in technology and takes fan engagement to the next level. We’ve already begun working on some innovations in the Meta, centering on the new fighter ranking system I’ll soon share. The coming years will be an absolute game changer for fans of the sport.”
With Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg becoming a sports fan for many years and participating in many jiu-jitsu competitions, this matchup makes a lot of sense.
“I love the sport and look forward to working with the UFC to help fans experience it in new ways,” says Zuckerberg.
White also joined Meta’s board of directors in January along with John Elkann, CEO of investment firm Exor, and tech investor Charlie Songhurst.
Details are still thin as to what it brings to the quest. While not specific to XR, Meta said, “We will be integrating UFC assets with extensive activations in all pay-per-views, and will integrate battle nights with world-renowned octagon brand placement, numerous broadcast features, and a creative Arena fan experience.
This transaction is set up to include Meta’s social platform threads with exclusive original UFC content.
In 2022, the UFC first partnered with Meta to create a 180-degree Fight Pass live stream Horizon Worlds, Not just Quest’s social VR platform Xtadium App. With the new partnership, the two may be looking to expand and evolve their licenses across the quest, which could allow the UFC match to give even greater visibility on the platform.
The company says details of the partnership will arrive soon.
