The UFC is facing calls for a boycott after teaming with outré beer brand Bud Light with a $100 million sponsorship deal.
Bud Light, of course, has faced a massively successful and organic boycott after a beer brand executive slammed her own customers as “fratty” and uncool ahead of the brand engaging in a short-lived campaign with the cartoonish transgender activist and TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney.
As beer drinkers weighed in on their disgust with the brand’s behavior, Bud Light was toppled as America’s top-selling beer and has continued on a downward sales trajectory ever since, causing the beer to desperately look for ways to reassert its standing in the beer world.
Bud Light is paying $100 Million to be the official beer of @UFC and you know what? Lighting that money on fire would have been less embarrassing than what’s about to happen. Fighters are gonna hate this. Fans will hate it. The customers aren’t coming back @budlight. Period. You… pic.twitter.com/L15A3jBLAW
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) October 25, 2023
In pursuit of redemption, Bud Light has apparently contracted with UFC as a major new sponsor with a six-year deal worth $100 million.
But fight fans are not at all amused, according to the New York Post.
UFC fans jumped to social media to scold Dana White’s organization for teaming with Bud Light.
“UFC BOYCOTT IS ON,” one user wrote, with another posting, “Time to double down on the #BoycottBudLight and now #BoycottUFC.” And another insisted the UFC deal is a “dumb move.”
UFC BOYCOTT IS ON
— ♨️John♨️Gregorek♨️ ㊺ (@OstrichEyesCOM) October 25, 2023
#BoycottBudLight #boycottUFC Dumb move @danawhite
— DavidDurall3 (@DDurall3) October 25, 2023
One fan added, “@danawhite should have rejected this.”
“Bud Light [and] Anheuser-Busch are marketing MORONS, to try this,” another said. “It’s like picking at a scab, it’s going to leave a scar.”
BUD LIGHT @budlight@AnheuserBusch@budweiser$BUD are marketing MORONS to try this. It's like picking at a scab it's going to leave a scar. This just shows customers that BUD QUEER didn't give a flying fuck about the boycott/BUD dividing USA.https://t.co/YlwWs6FSoK
— Blue Snowshoe (@doc_mariposa) October 25, 2023
An X user specifically slammed White for delivering a “slap in the face to UFC fans” for saying that Bud Light “aligns with UFC’s core values.”
Dana White commenting on making Bud L'ight the official beer of the UFC: 'I feel we are very aligned when it comes to our core values.' Slap in the face to UFC fans. What's next transgender fighters?
— Ted The Truth (@tedsthetruth) October 25, 2023
Bud Light appears poised to replace rival Modelo as the official UFC beer. Modelo has held the title for the last four years.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston, or Truth Social @WarnerToddHuston