Meta signs an unprecedented deal with the UFC to offer fights in VR

Meta signs an unprecedented deal with the UFC to offer fights in VR

The UFC has signed a deal with Meta

Mark Zuckerberg is self admittedly a huge MMA fan, and that showed, with his appearance at the UFC Apex.

UFC Vegas 61 was mired by controversy, as it was the first PPV in the company’s history that not only curtailed fans from visiting, but also the media. While Dana White had earlier trashed the rumours surrounding Mark Zuckerberg’s involvement, his statement became moot later.

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In stills from the event, Mark Zuckerberg could be seen enjoying the fights cageside with President Dana White. There is also a viral picture of Priscilla Chan, Mark Zuckerberg’s wife, showing fear at the hard knocks being landed.

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It has now been revealed that pleasure was not the sole purpose of Mark Zuckerberg’s visit to the Apex. Facebook’s parent company Meta has signed with the UFC to provide VR coverage of their fights.

On Thursday, the UFC announced the decision to pair up with Meta, offering fights on the Meta Quest 2 headset. “We are excited to offer an unprecedented level of engagement for Fight Pass subscribers and MMA fans around the world by producing a live MMA event in virtual reality.” said Crowley Sullivan, vice president of Fight Pass.

He continued, “With Meta providing the VR platform and YBVR lending their production expertise, we’re confident this will be a great experience for fight fans.” [H/T MMAFighting]

The LFA 144 event this week will be the first event that can be viewed in VR.

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Pairing up with Meta is another in a string of moves by the UFC to diversify itself

Dana White (R) with Mark Zuckerberg

When Conor McGregor did what he did for the MMA world from 2014 to 2017, the sport attracted a vastly bigger amount of viewership.

Dana White has capitalised on the traction that the sport enjoyed in the second half of the last decade – he and his company work extremely hard on the promotional aspect of things. The main goal of these promotional moves is to ensure that the sport keeps rising above its “niche” category and becomes palatable to everyone.

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Another masterstroke was the inauguration of the Apex in 2019 – fights were held in the Apex during Covid, when all other sports stood still. Similarly, establishing a strong base for the company in Asia, especially Central Asia and Russia has gone a long way toward MMA becoming somewhat of a main sport in those parts of the world.  

The UFC continues to grow at a rapid pace. The UFC has also gone all out to promote its marquee event in Abu Dhabi next weekend. With Islam Makhachev fighting amongst a crowd that will no doubt favour him, UFC 280 will definitely draw in newer eyeballs.

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