Kick takes its name literally with UFC partnership

Kick is getting into the octagon. The streaming platform has signed on as an official partner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the premier organization for professional mixed martial arts.

The UFC announced the deal with a press release published on its website. The combat sports org will use its official Kick channel to broadcast fight watch-alongs, behind-the-scenes coverage, athlete interviews, and press conferences. As a UFC partner, Kick “will be integrated within a selection of UFC’s biggest events around the world,” according to the release. Kick’s first official taste of UFC action came this past weekend during the clash between Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway, the latter of whom streams on Kick himself.

Kick has entered into brand partnerships since bursting onto the scene at the end of 2022. The UFC deal, with its ambitious scope, seems to represent a shift in strategy for the streaming hub. It previously appealed to a young male audience by inking exclusive contracts with “bad boy” creators, some of whom had previously been banned on Twitch

. That approach has raised Kick’s profile while also inundating it with the sort of behavior you’d expect from a community full of edgelords.

As exclusive contracts lose their luster, Kick is betting that it can gain ground by partnering with the brands its target audience loves. The UFC is a big deal among young men, who will now have ample reasons to follow their favorite octagon personalities on Kick.

“We’re thrilled to begin our relationship with Kick by becoming a major element of their innovative streaming service, joining some of Kick’s most well-known streamers, including Westcol, and Adin Ross,” said Nicholas Smith, the VP of Global Partnerships for UFC parent TKO, in a statement. “We’re looking forward to our KICK channel becoming a strong, reliable platform to drive awareness for all our live UFC events, while enhancing the UFC live experience with unique, compelling content for UFC fans around the world.”

Kick is not the first social hub to recognize the value of combat sports. Since YouTube’s early days, the WWE has had a thriving presence on the platform, and it still ranks among YouTube’s most-watched channels more than 17 years after its first upload.

The WWE’s success on YouTube has helped some of the platform’s stars land opportunities in the ring. Some influencer boxers have even flirted with the UFC, which raises the ultimate question about Kick’s partnership: Will its embrace of the UFC lead to a mixed martial arts boom among creators? Is “influencer MMA” the next influencer boxing? As the UFC Kick hub continues to grow (it has 16,000 followers and counting), we’ll get our answers.