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UFC faces boycott calls after announcing tie-up with Bud Light reportedly worth $100M

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Published Oct. 25, 2023, 10:03 a.m. ET

UFC is facing calls for a boycott after the mixed martial arts league announced on Tuesday that it inked a major sponsorship deal with Bud Light.

The tie-up with Anheuser-Busch’s beleaguered brew — which has been slammed with sharp sales declines since its fleeting, ill-fated campaign in April with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney — is reportedly worth more than $100 million, according to MMA Fighting.

“UFC BOYCOTT IS ON,” one user shared to X following the announcement, which will see Bud Light’s logo on fighting rinks and in marketing materials as of January.

“Time to double down on the #BoycottBudLight and now #BoycottUFC,” another posted, while yet another chimed in: “Dumb move.”

“Bud Light [and] Anheuser-Busch are marketing MORONS, to try this,” another furious user posted of the six-year deal. “It’s like picking at a scab, it’s going to leave a scar.”

Since Mulvaney’s fateful posts in April, Bud Light has been dethroned as the No. 1 beer in the US, losing its top spot to Modelo Especial, which experienced double-digit growth thanks to Bud Light’s demise.

Six months after Bud Light tapped transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney for a social media campaign, the beer -- and all of the companies it affiliates itself with -- is still facing calls for a boycott.
Six months after Bud Light tapped transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney for a social media campaign, the beer — and all of the companies it affiliates itself with — is still facing calls for a boycott. Getty Images

Anehuser-Busch has fought back with advertising dollars, with campaigns featuring NFL’s headline-making tight end Travis Kelce and big-time sponsorships. In response, critics on social media have demanded a boycott of companies Bud Light has affiliated itself with.

“Should the UFC have signed a deal with Bud Light? imo [in my opinion]. No,” one user shared. “Will Bud Light recover? Unlikely.”

“Go woke go broke!” an additional user wrote, echoing the sentiment that first circulated social media when Bud Light aligned itself with Mulvaney in an ill-fated attempt to move on its from “fratty” image, enraging Americans who claimed the beer pointlessly injected politics into its brand.

Another user on X wondered how popular Spotify podcaster and MMA announcer Joe Rogan would respond to news of the partnership, as he’s publicly called Mulvaney “mentally ill” and an “attention whore,” though he defied the Bud Light boycott on an episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience” by cracking open a can of the brew amid the backlash.

Mulvaney shared her controversial posts with Bud Light to her social media on April 1. The Anheuser-Busch-made beer has since lost its No. 1 best-selling spot to Mexican lager Modelo.
Mulvaney shared her controversial posts with Bud Light to her social media on April 1. The Anheuser-Busch-made beer has since lost its No. 1 best-selling spot to Mexican lager Modelo. Instagram
Bud Light on Tuesday inked a six-year sponsorship deal with the UFC reportedly worth more than $100 million.
Bud Light on Tuesday inked a six-year sponsorship deal with the UFC reportedly worth more than $100 million. Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

“Can’t wait to hear how Joe Rogan tries to worm his way through this announcement. He supported the BL boycott, but is attached to UFC at the hip,” the X user shared.

Rogan has yet to publicly comment on the partnership, which is a type of reunion for Bud Light and the UFC, which were engaged in a sponsorship deal before 2019.

Modelo has served as the UFC’s primary beer sponsor for the past four years.

Representatives for Bud Light and the UFC did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.