Mark Zuckerberg revealed that he both trains and watches MMA last year.
UFC Vegas 61 was held without a live audience or media and even families weren’t allowed due to UFC’s decision to invite Zuckerberg and meta executives. The lockdown was so intense that even the loved ones of those competing weren’t allowed to attend.
Dana White denied rumors of a Zuckerberg collaboration, but a partnership between Meta and UFC was announced soon after.
Meta’s Horizon Worlds app was compatible with the Meta Quest 2 headset, allowing a small group of fans to watch LFA 144 in VR.
But the partnership seemed to go nowhere and Meta recently announced they were moving away from the metaverse pivot.
Late yesterday, UFC released a statement about their new partnership.
Cosm, a leading immersive technology, media, and entertainment company, has teamed up with UFC to offer a new type of live viewing experience for UFC Pay-Per-View (PPV) events.
This multi-year partnership will allow Cosm to produce and present live UFC PPV events in immersive 8K at its forthcoming venues.
Cosm’s CX System software and immersive LED-dome displays will deliver an arena-like atmosphere, merging the energy of the crowd, elevated food and beverage service, specialized merchandise, and state-of-the-art visuals, to make guests feel like they are Octagon-side for the main event.
This new type of immersive viewing experience is called “Shared Reality,” which seamlessly bridges the virtual and physical worlds without the need for headsets or augmented devices.
The UFC has become an unrivaled force in combat sports over the last 30 years, leveraging its forward-thinking approach to build an unparalleled fanbase and create some of the most iconic moments in sports history. Together, UFC and Cosm will continue to push boundaries and create deeper engagement with fans by offering this first-of-its-kind immersive experience for UFC cards around the world.
“The UFC shares the same passion for innovation and elevating the fan experience as we do,” said Jeb Terry, CEO and President at Cosm.
“We are thrilled to partner with them to give fans a first-of-its-kind immersive experience for UFC fights around the world. This kind of shared viewing experience does not exist anywhere else on the planet, and we are proud to introduce this new era of live entertainment in collaboration with UFC.”
The partnership between UFC and Cosm will continue as they collaborate to deliver live, immersive 8K feeds directly into Cosm’s research and development facility (“Experience Center”) in Salt Lake City, UT, until Cosm’s first venue opening in early 2024.
Cosm announced its first league partnership with the NBA earlier this year and has broken ground at its first venue in Los Angeles at Hollywood Park, adjacent to SoFi Stadium and Intuit Dome, with plans to expand to additional locations in key markets.
Cosm’s second venue will be in Dallas at Grandscape, with details around the schedule of events upon the opening of these venues to be shared at a later date.
“At UFC, we’re always looking for new ways to create deeper engagement with our fans, and Cosm has presented this great opportunity to do that with our biggest events using this unique and immersive viewing technology,” added Craig Borsari, Chief Content Officer and Executive Producer at UFC. “It’s going to elevate the UFC live experience for our fans who watch beyond the arena.”