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UFC & TikTok Announce New Partnership, Weekly Live Show Coming
The UFC and TikTok announced a new partnership this morning with the global MMA brand looking to deepen its relationship with the social media platform. Part of the deal will include a new weekly live show featuring live looks at weigh-ins and press conferences, athlete interviews, arena tours, fighter training segments, and more. The shows will be tailored to whatever the upcoming fight cards are to build "anticipation and awareness" of the events. The UFC has over 7 million followers across all of their TikTok channels across the world, and looks to expand that number exponentially over the next couple of years. The company will produce original content for its channels as well. This is the first agreement like this between a social media company and a sports league.
UFC Is Always An Innovator, Never A Follower
"We are thrilled to deepen our partnership with UFC and launch a robust slate of exclusive live content for the TikTok community," said Harish Sarma, Director, Global Strategic Partnerships, Americas and Oceania, TikTok. "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."
"This partnership with TikTok is a tremendous addition to UFC's content distribution ecosystem," said David Shaw, UFC Senior Vice President of International and Content. "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."
The deal will be in place for this weekend's UFC card featuring a Heavyweight contest between contenders Curtis Blades and Derrick Lewis.