In brief
- UFC parent company TKO has signed a multi-year, exclusive deal with prediction market platform Polymarket.
- Polymarket’s crypto-powered markets will be used for broadcast and social media content for UFC and Zuffa Boxing.
- Polymarket is valued at $9 billion following a recent $2 billion investment from NYSE owner Intercontinental Exchange.
Ultimate Fighting Championship parent company TKO Group Holdings has agreed to a multi-year deal with Polymarket to make the platform the official, exclusive prediction market partner of UFC and Zuffa Boxing.
The collaboration introduces engagement features designed to help fans interact with combat sports. Central to the partnership is a real-time Fan Prediction Scoreboard that will debut during UFC broadcasts, visualizing global fan sentiment and fight forecasts as events unfold. This data-driven tool is designed to bring audience sentiment into the matches.
“Few sports generate emotion and debate like the UFC,” said Shayne Coplan, founder and CEO of Polymarket, in a statement. “By bringing prediction markets to the broadcast and arena, we’re giving fans a new way to be part of the action—not just watching outcomes but watching the world’s expectations evolve with every round.”
On CNBC’s “Squawk Box” early Thursday, he elaborated on the team-up.
“What’s exciting about our approach is you can buy and sell and you can trade just like a stock throughout the fight,” said Coplan. “You can buy and sell as momentum swings… we will start with that and we will take from there based on customer feedback.”
The companies will also launch a social media series called “Matchup Predictions—Who’s Next?”, which will use Polymarket data to fuel speculation about potential matchups for top fighters following their wins.
Polymarket will also serve as the inaugural official brand partner of Zuffa Boxing, the professional boxing promotion launching in January 2026, bringing similar fan engagement experiences to boxing events.
“By partnering with Shayne and his team at Polymarket, we’re unlocking a new dimension of fan engagement,” said TKO Executive Chair and CEO Ariel Emanuel. “Integrating Polymarket with the UFC and Zuffa Boxing live experience will help fans interact with these events in real time, transforming passive viewership into active participation.”
Polymarket recently signed a deal with the NHL to license trademarks from the hockey league, and has also agreed to integrations with Google Finance and Yahoo Finance.
The platform has confirmed plans to launch its own crypto token, though it’s expected to come in 2026 following the firm’s return to the U.S. market. Users on Myriad—a prediction market operated by Decrypt‘s parent company, Dastan—give just an 18% likelihood that Polymarket will officially announce its token by year’s end.
Polymarket recently raised $2 billion from New York Stock Exchange owner Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), which valued the crypto startup at $9 billion.
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Source: https://decrypt.co/348502/ufc-parent-tko-signs-polymarket-exclusive-prediction-market-deal
