UFC has signed a multi-year partnership with TikTok that will allow the mixed martial arts organization to produce live content on the social media platform. UFC and TikTok will now team-up to program new weekly shows on the social media platform, featuring live looks at weigh-ins, press conferences, athlete interviews, arena tours, fighter training segments, and more. Each show will focus on an upcoming live event.
According to the new deal, UFC and TikTok will collaborate to distribute content annually via the organization’s existing global TikTok channels such as @UFC, @UFCRussia, @UFCBrasil, and @UFCEurope. UFC is also planning to engage a dedicated full-time resource to produce original live and VOD content for @UFC on TikTok to help the growth of UFC’s global community on the popular social media platform.
UFC is already one of the fastest-growing sports properties on TikTok, with a total of 7 million users on official channels. Moreover, videos with the #UFC hashtag have been viewed more than 8 billion times since 2019.
While commenting on this deal, Harish Sarma, Director, Global Strategic Partnerships, Americas and Oceania, TikTok said, “We are thrilled to deepen our partnership with UFC and launch a robust slate of exclusive live content for the TikTok community. Now more than ever, sports fans are craving the up-close-and-personal moments they are missing by not attending live events. Through this partnership, we are excited to bring to TikTok, the action and excitement of UFC both inside and outside the Octagon.”
According to David Shaw, UFC Senior Vice President of International and Content, this partnership with TikTok is a tremendous addition to UFC’s content distribution ecosystem. Shaw said,“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.”
This collaboration will officially begin this week with UFC FIGHT NIGHT: BLAYDES vs LEWIS on Saturday, February 20, live from UFC APEX in Las Vegas. Fans can tune in to @UFC on TikTok LIVE this weekend to watch additional moments from the event. Last week, TikTok became a global sponsor of the upcoming Euro 2020. With this new partnership with UFC, the Bytedance-owned company is slowly taking on the world of sports.