A view of the Octagon during the UFC 180 event at Arena Ciudad de Mexico on November 15, 2014 in ... [+]
The UFC is back in business with Anheuser-Busch.
It was not that long ago that the Bud Light logo was displayed inside the UFC octagon, but the brand, which had a partnership with the UFC beginning in 2008, has not been part of UFC events since the promotion in 2017. The initial agreement between the fight promotion and Modelo was for three years. The UFC and Modelo extended their partnership in 2021. That deal ends in 2024, which is when the freshly-inked Anheuser-Busch deal begins.
"Anheuser-Busch and Bud Light were UFC's original beer sponsors more than fifteen years ago," UFC CEO Dana White said in a statement (via ). "I'm proud to announce we are back in business together. There are many reasons why I chose to go with Anheuser-Busch and Bud Light, most importantly because I feel we are very aligned when it comes to our core values and what the UFC brand stands for. I'm looking forward to all of the incredible things we will do in the years ahead."
The Anheuser-Busch partnership with the UFC will see Bud Light once again be a part of the UFC's live events. That includes during the fight broadcasts and during fight-week activities such as the press conferences that take place before and after the events and UFC weigh-ins. Bud Light will also be a part of the in-arena branding during live UFC fight cards.
Former Vice-President of Global Media Sports and Entertainment Marketing for Anheuser-Busch, Tony Ponturo, said of the new deal (via ), "Clearly, they are trying to get traction with their core consumer and stabilize (share). They (Anheuser-Busch) are losing shelf space, and this is an attempt to reclaim some of that. Back then, and now, this is a square shot at grabbing those 21-34 male drinkers." Ponturo helped negotiate the original deal between the UFC and Anheuser-Busch.
The partnership between the beer company and fight promotion comes after a conservative boycott of Bud Light after the brand partnered with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. During that time, Modelo unseated Bud Light as the .
Terms of the deal between the UFC and Anheuser-Busch were not disclosed, but ESPN reported that it is the biggest sponsorship deal in the fight promotion’s history.