This year, the UFC has been laser-focused on boosting fan engagement through technology. Earlier this year, the promotion partnered with Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta to introduce tools like Meta AI, Meta Glasses, Meta Quest, and more, all aimed at giving fans a more interactive and enhanced fight-viewing experience. Now, with that development still going on, the promotion has taken things a step further by revealing something truly unique.  

Dana White and his team have decided to partner with a company called Fight.ID, an $8 million venture aimed at taking fan engagement to the next level. However, this collaboration offers something different from the UFC’s partnership with Meta. Fight.ID operates on a fully blockchain-based ecosystem, and the UFC couldn’t wait to showcase it to the fans.

UFC partners with Fight.ID to elevate fan experience  

Announcing the partnership, the UFC’s official X account shared a video featuring notable fighters like Gilbert Burns, Dan Ige, Vicente Luque, Josh Emmett, and Gregory Rodrigues, all appearing in the promotional clip highlighting the collaboration with the blockchain company. The caption read, “The movement begins. The future of fandom. UFC meets Web3. Get early access now at https://app.fight.id.”

With that, the UFC will now create digital merchandise, digital identities, and other products — all built on blockchain technology — that fans will likely be able to purchase or use in other ways. Interestingly, while the announcement may seem surprising, the UFC actually revealed this partnership about a month ago.

According to CoinMarketCap, Grant Norris-Jones, Executive Vice President and Head of Global Partnerships at TKO, said, “UFC has always embraced an innovation-first mentality. James and his team have proven to be a dynamic and innovative partner for us, and we are extremely excited to support the Fight.ID ecosystem over the next several years.”

The UFC has definitely been leaning into new technologies this year. And with just two months left before entering the Paramount+ era, the promotion’s latest wave of enhancements could turn into something fans genuinely enjoy. Now that we’ve heard the UFC officials’ thoughts, let’s see what the blockchain company’s CEO has to say. 

Fight. ID CEO appreciates Dana White and Co. for investing in blockchain projects

As the UFC continues exploring different technological ventures after partnering with Meta, blockchain development could become a major part of that journey. With the promotion actively embracing new innovations, the founder and CEO of Fight.ID, James Zhang, was genuinely impressed by the professionalism of the UFC team and praised them for taking on this project.  

According to CoinMarketCap, he said, “As our world continues to become more digitally enabled, there is no better time than now to invest in blockchain projects. There’s also no better time to become a UFC fan as MMA continues to capture our cultural zeitgeist.” But that’s not all. 

James Zhang also elaborated on how his team has already been developing the UFC’s digital collectibles. Now, fans can explore an expanded range of products designed which the fans could enjoy. He added, “As fight fans, we have long admired UFC’s grit and innovation. Over the past three years, our teams have developed incredible trust and collaboration in PR, building UFC’s official digital collectibles. It’s time now to expand our offerings to invite all fight fans to join the tribe of digital ownership.” 

That said, as the UFC steps into another business venture, do you think this will be a product fans genuinely enjoy, or just another gimmick? Let us know in the comments below.