Crypto.com team up with UFC to pay MMA fighters bonuses in Bitcoin

Digital currency exchange Crypto.com announced that fighters from the MMA promotion company, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), will be able to win Fight Night bonuses that will be paid in Bitcoin. Fight Night bonus payouts will vary depending on placement, up to $30,000 in Bitcoin for the winners.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship, the world’s biggest professional mixed martial arts (MMA) competition, is set to pay fighter bonuses in Bitcoin via a partnership with crypto exchange Crypto.com.

The organization will dole out Bitcoin payouts to the top three fighters on every UFC pay-per-view event. Crypto.com said in a statement the exchange, a UFC sponsor, is supplying the bonuses, not UFC.

According to the statement, $30,000 worth of Bitcoin will be given to the first place, $20,000 to second place, and $10,000 to third place.

Fan votes will determine the three fighters, and those selected will split a total sum of $60,000 worth of the flagship cryptocurrency.

“Crypto.com has been an official UFC partner for less than a year, and I’m telling you they are already one of the best partners we’ve had. They’re constantly coming up with new ideas about how we can work together to connect with the fans,” stated UFC president Dana White.

This is not the first time the UFC has dabbled in the world of crypto. Last April, the organization signaled its intent to get involved in NFTs when it filed two patent applications.

Also, this is not the first time Crypto.com has entered the sports marketing world, either. In the competitive world of crypto, exchanges have targeted sports fan bases to build already sizeable client bases.

In February, Crypto.com ran an ad at Super Bowl LVI, with other exchanges Bitbuy, Coinbase, eToro, and FTX also forking out hefty sums to target 112 million viewers that tuned into the NFL season finale.

Crypto.com also paid more than $700m for the naming rights on the home of the NBA’s LA Lakers and LA Clippers. Now called Crypto.com Arena, the deal was reportedly the largest US venue naming rights deal in history.

Other forays into sports have included sponsorship deals with Formula 1, the Coppa Italia, South America’s Conmebol, French football team PSG, and American women’s football team Angel City FC.