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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
The UFC and Bud Light on Wednesday announced a new multi-year renewal of Bud Light's official beer sponsorship of the UFC.
The deal will keep the Bud Light logo prominently placed in the center of the Octagon at UFC events, and they will now be a feature sponsor of four pay-per-view events a year.
In addition to the sponsorship renewal, the UFC and Bud Light will team up to present one special promotional event per year. The first such event will take place on Spike TV on Saturday, September 17 in New Orleans, with the event being dubbed the "Battle on the Bayou."
MMA fans will have a chance to win a weekend event with the "Battle on the Bayou" national sweepstakes, a three-day, two-night UFC fan experience in New Orleans for the event. The sweepstakes winner will win access to the weigh-ins downtown, an exclusive concert and meet-and-greets with UFC personalities.
The sweepstakes opens up on May 2, and fans 21 and older can enter at www.Facebook.com/BudLight or through UFC-branded Snap Tags on Bud Light point-of-sale materials.
"Bud Light's first three years with the UFC have focused largely on growing awareness and viewership of the sport at bars, restaurants and all the other places Bud Light is sold across the country," said Mark Wright, vice president of media, sports & entertainment marketing, Anheuser-Busch, Inc. in today's release. "Having brought the UFC to more people, we want to start bringing more people to the UFC by creating exclusive fan experiences only Bud Light and the UFC can deliver. 'Battle on the Bayou' is a first and unprecedented step in that direction."
"Bud Light's sponsorship deal with us a few years ago was a milestone for our organization and the sport," said Dana White, UFC President. "We couldn't be more excited about working with Bud Light and continuing our strong relationship."
Bud Light branding will continue to be prominent at all UFC live events and functions, and they will also now be integrated into the UFC's digital platforms on Facebook, YouTube and UFC.com. In addition, Bud Light will be releasing a limited edition UFC aluminum bottle, which will be the first such Bud Light bottle to feature the UFC's logo.
UPDATE: The initial press release stated more than 5,000 fans would attend the event courtesy of Bud Light, but it has been corrected as a number has not yet been determined for sweepstakes winners and more information will be coming on that front in the future.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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