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The UFC recently announced that the promotion has signed a sponsorship deal with Bud Light that could be worth over $100 million.
UFC President Dana White doesn’t seem too concerned with any potential backlash from the promotion’s deal with Bud Light.
“Believe me, if you think I got into this thinking that wouldn’t happen, you’re out of your mind,” White said at the Power Slap 5 post-fight press conference (transcript via Farah Hannoun & Ken Hathaway of MMA Junkie). “People are very opinionated about this, and it’s almost like in the COVID thing. Through COVID, what did I say during COVID? Somebody’s got to be first. There are reasons why I felt we could be first going through COVID, knew we would do it right, yada, yada, yada. You know the story. But when it comes to Anheuser-Busch and Bud Light, everybody talks about, ‘Oh, you did it for money.’ Hey, dummies, all sponsorship deals are about money. OK? So, when you talk about being a sellout, I have multiple (offers) in front of me.
“So it’s not like Bud Light showed up and they were the only option I had to get money. You know how f*cking stupid that is? This was all about, and I said this yesterday and I’ll say it again, everybody on every side of this deal that were involved, other beer companies and everything else absolutely, positively know that this was not about money for me. We were going to end up with money no matter who we ended up with. For Anheuser-Busch, it was about values, core values for me. I’m at a point in my life, and I’m at a point in my career, where nothing is just about money anymore.”
Bud Light found itself at the center of controversy earlier this year following a spokesperson deal with transgender social media star Dylan Mulvaney.
White also knows why the deal between the UFC and Bid Light is a good one for the promotion.
“I am a big military, law enforcement guy,” White said. “(Bud Light has) these Folds of Honor where they’ve spent $44 million over the last however many years, fallen first responders and military people, their families get taken care of with this money, scholarships for their kids, etc. That is right up my alley. Almost $1 billion a year goes to U.S. farmers for their crops, for their products. That is right up my alley.
“That is exactly who I am. Sixty-five thousand Americans are employed by Anheuser-Busch, and thousands of them are vets. Right up my alley. And I can keep going on and on forever and tell you why I’m more aligned with Anheuser-Busch than any of the other beer companies that were offering to pay us money.”
