The world’s premier mixed martial arts organisation, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has announced a game-changing upgrade to one of the sports’ most recognisable settings, the world-famous Octagon.
This upgrade already began with UFC 272: COVINGTON vs. MASVIDAL on March 5, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The Octagon featured a new state-of-the-art LED decking display around its outer circumference, which was used to enhance the spectacle of UFC events by including electrifying lighting effects, animation, graphics, video, and more.
The groundbreaking lighting system, termed UFC Fight Deck, was custom built for UFC, weighs more than five tonnes, and includes eight tiles totalling more than 175 square feet of LED lighting around the standard 30-foot Octagon. Each panel features full-motion HD video with dynamic branding and messaging capabilities that can be used to enhance the UFC experience by increasing fan engagement and partnership branding opportunities.
Craig Borsari, Chief Content Officer and Executive Producer, UFC, said, “We take pride in giving our fans the best in-arena and broadcast presentation possible, and we’re always looking for ways to upgrade the experience. This is a use of cutting-edge technology with the most famous setting in combat sports, the Octagon, and it’s going to transform how fans experience UFC events.”
Paul Asencio, UFC Senior Vice President of Global Partnerships, commented, “The possibilities for using this technology to integrate our partners into UFC events are limitless. We’ll be able to elevate our partners’ brands before millions of UFC fans around the world during the most visible, most-anticipated moments of our events, including in-round action, fighter introductions, and walkouts from the locker rooms to the Octagon.”
UFC Fight Deck will also be integrated at key moments with UFC Fight Clock, the UFC’s proprietary and innovative time-keeping system, to provide the Octagon with a unified, multi-level LED look. The UFC Fight Clock, which debuted last year, utilises cutting-edge technology, including the world’s most flexible high-definition screens, to provide fighters and fans with the most accurate time-keeping system in combat sports. UFC Fight Deck will be used at all UFC events in the United States, including those at UFC APEX, at first, with plans to eventually incorporate the system into international events.
The UFC Fight Deck structure was designed and built by premier staging company All Access, Inc., while the LED display screens were made by PixelFLEX, a leader in LED technology who was previously involved in the design of the UFC Fight Clock.