UFC, Venum Agree to Multi-Year Renewal of Outfitting Partnership

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.

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