UFC and Venum announce multi-year renewal of
outfitting and apparel partnership :— UFC News (@UFCNews)
August 31, 2022
Venum will continue to be the outfitting partner for the Ultimate
Fighting Championship for the foreseeable future.
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The UFC announced on Wednesday that it has agreed to a multi-year
renewal of its agreement with the France-based combat sports
apparel company. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but
according to a release, the contract was “facilitated by IMG’s
licensing business, which exclusively represents UFC and brokered
the original agreement with Venum in 2020.” The UFC
officially unveiled its partnership with Venum in April 2021 in
what was supposed to be a three-year agreement, but it appears that
both sides have extended the deal before its expiration.
The announcement coincides with the Las Vegas-based promotion’s
first-ever trip to France for UFC Fight Night 209 at Accor Arena in
Paris on Saturday.
“Venum’s return to UFC in April 2021 has been a source of great
pride for the Venum team,” said Franck Dupuis, Venum Founder and
CEO. “The enthusiastic reception from UFC athletes and fans
to the launch and release of our UFC collections has convinced us
to continue our adventure inside the Octagon, and to continue to
improve our products to serve a demanding and passionate
public. The best is ahead of us.”
Venum replaced Rebook as the UFC’s official outfitter beginning at
UFC on ABC 2 in April 2021. At the time, the new agreement was
expected to increase fighter pay by a total of $1 million in
comparison to the Reebok deal,
with each tier of experience receiving a slight raise — though
that did not account for inflation. It is unclear whether the new
deal increases pay for each tier from the original agreement.
Fighters are allowed to partner with sponsors cleared by the UFC
but those arrangements must occur outside of fight week. Athletes
must adhere to outfitting policies during fight week in order to
receive their payout from the tiered system. The payouts from the
original terms of the Venum partnership are as follows:
1-3 Bouts: $4,000
4-5 Bouts: $4,500
6-10 Bouts: $6,000
11-15 Bouts: $11,000
16-20 Bouts: $16,000
21+ Bouts: $21,000
Title Challenger: $32,000
Champion: $42,000