The UFC has named NetBet as its official sportsbook and betting partner across the UK, Ireland, Greece, Italy and Romania.
As part of the deal, the NetBet brand will have a presence in the UFC’s octagon, its international broadcast feed and across the mixed martial arts organisation’s digital and social platforms – beginning with UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs Brady on 22 March at The O2 in London.
Nicholas Smith, Senior Vice President and Head of International Business at TKO, commented: “As UFC continues to grow and expand across Europe, it’s great to bring on such a reputable betting partner who already has a strong, established UFC fanbase.”
The partnership continues NetBet’s association with combat sports and seeks to build on the growing popularity of MMA across Europe.
In June 2024, the operator was named the official sportsbook partner of Power Slap – a slap fighting promotion owned by Dana White, the long-time President of the UFC.
On the latest announcement, NetBet CEO Marcel Prioteasa expressed the firm’s excitement to be “uniting the adrenalise-pumping action of the world’s premier mixed martial arts organisation with the elite betting experience our customers expect.”
“As we gear up for our biggest year yet in 2025, and with a loyal and growing MMA community, this partnership lets us bring fans even closer to the Octagon with exciting new ways to engage with the sport they enjoy,” added Prioteasa.
As mentioned, the association will debut at the fight between the former UFC Welterweight Champion Leon Edwards and Sean Brady at the 02 Arena in London.
This will be the UFC’s 16th visit to London and the 30th to the UK, making the country the fourth to have hosted UFC events for over 30 years.
Previous Partnerships
The UFC has had a strong relationship with the gambling industry in the past having partnered with a myriad of operators from across the globe.
One of the most significant of late was with Stake, a collaboration that in some ways NetBet will be looking to emulate as the operator tapped into the ambassador programme provided by the UFC.
This saw the likes of Merab Dvalishvili, Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira utilised in the promotions of the firm.
The UFC has also taken a localised approach to agreeing collaborations in the industry in the past. Most recently, the firm announced the expansion of its partnership with BetBoom, to become the Official Betting Partner of UFC in Latin America (excluding Brazil).
Activations are also at the forefront of this collaboration, with the UFC confirming that to further engage with UFC fans in Latin America, UFC and BetBoom will collaborate on a variety of custom and original content that will be distributed across UFC’s Spanish-language social media channels and digital platforms.
