Meta and UFC team up to bring AI and VR to fans

UFC is joining up with Facebook’s parent company Meta in a deal that will bring mixed martial arts to more fans around the world.

The companies said Wednesday that their multiyear partnership will give UFC the ability to use Meta’s technology platforms, services, and products, including Meta AI, Meta Glasses, Meta Quest, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Threads, so that UFC fans have more ways to view its content.

Meta and UFC, whose parent company is TKO Group, said they will work together to incorporate Meta’s AI glasses into UFC events.

“Meta has the greatest minds in tech and they are going to take fan engagement to the next level,” UFC President and CEO Dana White said in a statement.

White mentioned that Meta is already working on some innovations for a new fighter rankings system.

The deal, whose financial terms were not disclosed, will also see the Meta brand appear in UFC’s Octagon, as well as across numerous broadcasts. Meta’s social media platform Threads will feature exclusive original UFC content.

“I love this sport and I’m looking forward to working with the UFC to let fans experience it in new ways,” Meta Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said.

Zuckerberg is trained in mixed martial arts and posted about completing his first jiu jitsu tournament in 2023. That same year, there were talks of him and Tesla CEO Elon Musk squaring off in a “cage match,” but the event never happened.

Zuckerberg and White are no strangers to each other, with White joining Meta’s board of directors in January.

Both Zuckerberg and White are among the many high profile business figures within the orbit of President Donald Trump. After Trump won reelection in November, Zuckerberg dined at the president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida and Meta donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund. Other Big Tech companies such as Amazon have donated similar amounts.

Trump is a longtime UFC fan and frequent attendee of major fights. His ties with White date back to 2001, when White hosted a UFC at the Republican’s former casino-hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the Trump Taj Mahal. Trump has also appeared with White at UFC matches over the years, especially in his 2024 campaign as part of efforts to appeal to younger male voters.

White has had speaking roles at the 2016, 2020 and 2024 Republican conventions and appeared on stage at Trump’s election victory party in November.

Shares of Meta Platforms Inc. rose slightly in midday trading, while shares of TKO Group Holdings Inc. climbed more than 2%.

—Michelle Chapman, AP business writer

https://www.fastcompany.com/91310521/meta-ufc-partnership-multiyear-deal-ai-vr-fans?partner=rss&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=rss+fastcompany&utm_content=rss