Food & Beverage Close-Up: Bud Light to Serve as Exclusive Beer Sponsor of the Ultimate Fighting Championship

FindArticles > Food & Beverage Close-Up > March 3, 2008 > Article > Print friendly

Bud Light to Serve as Exclusive Beer Sponsor of the Ultimate Fighting Championship

Anheuser-Busch and the Ultimate Fighting Championship announced that Bud Light will become the new exclusive beer sponsor for the UFC.Bud Light's three-year deal with Zuffa, owner of the UFC brand, makes the American-style light lager the exclusive beer sponsor of the UFC -- a mixed martial arts organization.

"UFC has developed a huge following in recent years and is wildly popular with the 21-34 year old fans we want to reach," said Tony Ponturo, vice president, global media and sports marketing, Anheuser-Busch, Inc. "The number of people attending live events, buying the pay-per-views and talking about UFC around the water cooler continues to grow. It's just a great place for us to be."

"Landing Anheuser-Busch and Bud Light is huge for us, our fighters and especially our fans," said Dana White, UFC president. "We've got the number one selling beer in the world and one of the top marketers in all of sports as our sponsor. If our TV ratings, pay-per-view buys and venue sell-outs weren't enough, this definitely cements UFC as a major player in sports business."

((Comments on this story may be sent to newsdesk@closeupmedia.com))

((Distributed via M2 Communications Ltd - http://www.m2.com))