UFC officials recently revealed Migu, a subsidiary of China Mobile, will become the exclusive distributor of UFC live events in China, beginning with next week’s UFC 259.
The deal calls for an annual schedule of 12 pay-per-view cards and 30 UFC Fight Night events to stream on the platform, as well as the upcoming launch of Dana White’s Contender Series Asia. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“We are proud to call Migu the new home of UFC in China,” UFC Asia-Pacific senior vice president Kevin Chang stated. “Migu is the clear industry leader, and UFC will be among other top echelon sports properties on the platform. This ‘first of its kind’ partnership will be transformative for our growth and development and will firmly entrench UFC as an iconic global sports brand. The scope of this deal with Migu is unprecedented, and we’re looking forward to all the exciting projects we’ll work together on over the next few years.”
Migu is available on all connected devices in China, including Apple, Android, Huawei, Samsung, Tencent and others.
“Sports are an important way to improve people’s health, a means to satisfy people’s aspirations for a better life, promote people’s all-round development, and a significant driving force for economic and social development,” said Migu general manager Liu Xin stated. “Together with UFC, we will make full use of China Mobile’s 5G market leadership and Migu’s experience in the industry to bring exciting content in sports and health and promote the digital transformation and high-quality development of the sports industry.”
UFC officials said the promotion “will continue to increase the number of events hosted in China” during the term of the agreement. Promotion reps also said the UFC’s fanbase in China has grown to more than 173.8 million, citing a YouGov, GWI and Simmons research study conducted earlier this year.
“There has never been more talent, more fans, and more energy and momentum for UFC in China than right now,” UFC president Dana White stated. “This partnership with Migu is going to take UFC to the next level. I couldn’t be more excited to work with Migu to do amazing things to grow this sport and deliver incredible content to the best fans in all of sports.”
