Bud Light Overpays For UFC Partnership In Attempt To Win Back Conservatives: Bobby Burack
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) signed a new partnership with Anheuser-Busch to make Bud Light once again the official beer of the promotion.
Bud Light replaces Modelo, the beer partner of the UFC since 2017.
Sources tell Sports Business Journal the deal is in the "nine figures," the largest UFC sponsorship deal to date.
A partnership with the UFC is uniquely valuable to Bud Light. Beyond the promotion's success, the UFC is particularly popular among conservative sports fans -- a base that turned on Bud Light earlier this year.
In April, Bud Light released a commemorative can to celebrate trans hustler Dylan Mulvaney's "365 Days of Girlhood." The rollout sparked an immediate backlash among conservatives who eventually cost Anheuser-Busch $27 billion in market value and Bud Light its status as the top beer company in the world for the first time in 22 years.
The company is still reeling months later. It has failed to make any notable amends with its former customers.
Bud Light hopes the UFC can help mend those fences. Maybe even Make Bud Light Great Again.
UFC is the only mainstream professional sports league that leans to the right. (No, NASCAR is not mainstream.)
The others -- the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, PGA Golf, and PBC Boxing -- frequently scoff at conservative values. See their support for the BLM riots in 2020, Pride Month, and athletes who protested the national anthem as evidence.
Led by Dana White, the UFC was the only league to stay active at the height of the pandemic when Democrat leaders campaigned for lockdowns..
Sports commissioners answer to their critics. White answers to his fans.
He allows his fighters to espouse political views that run afoul of the prevailing narrative, including their support for Donald Trump:
Imagine a player expressing those sentiments following a football game. He would be forced to issue an apology immediately and donate to some DEI charity.
The UFC invited Trump to walk out with White and conservative musician Kid Rock during a fight in April.
Trump agreed:
White doesn't pretend to sympathize with perpetually offended journalists. He detests them as much as conservatives do:
SiriusXM host Stacy Washington and I discussed the UFC's popularity among the right in August. Washington explained how right-leaning fans believe while most sports other leagues speak down to them, the UFC speaks to them.
Her assessment is consistent with UFC's popularity boom in 2020.
The MMA site Bloody Elbow published a column at that time explaining and complaining about how "the UFC became fashionable among the American right":
"The UFC, which has amassed a new right-wing following since cementing its stance as pro-Trump, is the perfect example of this hypocrisy.
"Even the promotion’s ratings have witnessed a noticeable bump despite mediocre fight cards over the past few weeks, while the NBA has seen a significant drop in ratings since the recent wave of player protests."
That's a long, dramatic way of admitting the NBA caters to the vocal minority while the UFC appeals to the silent majority.
And, as we detailed, it was the silent majority who capsized Bud Light after it honored Dylan Mulvaney for calling himself a girl for an entire year.
The Bud Light-ed phenomena reaffirm that the common man always had — and continues to have — the ability to punish those who disregard them.
Consumers have long ignored and even accepted various left-wing, corporate-backed political messages, such as racial equity, legalized marijuana, and same-sex “marriage."
However, pretending men are women appears to be where the working class draws the line, where the hand is overplayed. And where the actions of the consumer defeat the message of their brand.
Bud Light can attest to that.
Lastly, it would not be hypocritical for customers to forgive Bud Light. A consumer response, or even a boycott, need not last in perpetuity.
Beer buyers made a point. They made it well. They told Anheuser-Busch they do not back men who cosplay as women.
Bud Light heard them. And has not used its reach to celebrate transgenderism since.
So, can the UFC convince fans to forgive Bud Light, to give the brand another chance?
Anheuser-Busch calculated the possibility is worth nine figures.