* VeChain is the headline sponsor, so UFC 322 is officially branded “VeChain UFC 322”.
* VeChain struck a multi-year 2022 deal with UFC that included octagon and rankings branding.
* This PPV branding is likely a rare one-off, as past sponsor names (e.g., Riyadh) didn’t stick.
UFC 322: Jack Della Maddalena vs Islam Makhachevis being branded as VeChain UFC 322 for sponsorship reasons. This is something that has caught the attention of fans and has raised speculation on what VeChain is and how they ended up on the name of one of the biggest events ever.
UFC’s Latest Sponsor Speculation: What is VeChain?
VeChain is a blockchain technology company that verifies the legitimacy of products and works with businesses to prevent counterfeits. The UFC partnered with VeChain in June 2022 on a multi-year deal, though this is the first time the sponsor is being branded onto a PPV name.
The 2022 agreement included octagon branding, rankings sponsorship, and other marketing aspects. The UFC almost never sells PPV branding rights to companies unless it is a huge financial deal, which suggests that VeChain likely had an expanded activation or renegotiation which featured a much more lucrative offer for the promotion.
This has resulted in UFC 322 being branded as VeChain UFC 322, putting VeChain in a huge spotlight that the company has likely never seen before.
Will UFC Events Continue To Be Branded Under VeChain?
With UFC 322 being branded under the VeChain name, there is speculation that future cards will also have the same sponsorship deals, with some fans fearing that PPVs may lose their authenticity and big fight feel.
However, this is something that fans likely don’t have to be worried about, as there have been very rare occasions where UFC PPVs were branded under sponsorships, though it did not become permanent.
The biggest and most recent example of this came at UFC 306, where the card was referred to as Riyadh Season Noche UFC due to sponsorship reasons. Following this, UFC PPVs went back to their regular names, as the Riyadh Season branding did not become a mainstay for major events despite the partnership remaining ongoing.
This means that this VeChain branding almost certainly appears to be a one-time thing, and that it’s not something that the UFC will do on a regular basis. With that said, there could be certain events that VeChain may negotiate for in the future, though the UFC will likely never give a sponsor permanent name branding on their PPV cards.
