The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and DraftKings, an American daily fantasy sports contest and sports betting operator, have announced a groundbreaking agreement. After the deal, DraftKings has become the mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion’s first-ever official sportsbook and daily fantasy partner in the US and Canada.
According to a report in ESPN, the five-year deal is worth US$350 million.
After the agreement, DraftKings will now offer in-game promotions, activations, in-broadcast odds integrations and UFC branding across its daily fantasy and betting products and will possess rights to use official UFC marks and logos.
Commenting on the developement, UFC president Dana White said: “This is a massive deal that will benefit UFC, DraftKings, and most of all the fans. This is the most important deal we’ve ever done to increase engagement with our fans and reach new ones, and I’m looking forward to all the exciting things we’re going to do with DraftKings over the next few years.”
On the other hand, Jason Robins, DraftKings co-founder, chief executive and executive chairman said: “Combat sports, and UFC in particular, have scaled significantly across both our sportsbook and daily fantasy verticals, evolving from a niche offering to a high-demand category that we believe will only grow further as we innovate.”