UFC collaborates with Dapper Labs for NFT marketplace

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has launched the ‘Strike’ non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace in collaboration with blockchain technologies company Dapper Labs.

Profits from the NFTs, priced at US$50 each, will be split equally between the UFC and athletes.

UFC’s NFTs will feature iconic moments, highlights, action images from numerous camera angles, fight commentaries, and crowd responses.

The NFTs would spotlight some UFC stars, including Francis Ngannou, Kamaru Usman, Amanda Nunes, Rose Namajunas, Derrick Lewis, and Justin Gaethije.

There will be 200,000 NFT packs, each containing three highlights, in the first drop.

The first 100,000 packs would be made available from 23rd January following the UFC 270 pay-per-view event headlined by Francis Ngannou versus Cyril Gane.

The UFC will release collections to correspond with the promotion’s event calendar.

According to Tracey Bleczinski, UFV senior vice president of global consumer products, they chose Dapper Labs as its first NFT partner for its vision for the potential of these products. He noted that Dapper Labs is an innovator in this field and created an industry that didn’t exist a few years ago.

Caty Tedman, Dapper Labs head of partnerships, revealed that they had accelerated the move to Web3 by building new apps and platforms that enable great user experiences.

The partnership with the UFC expands Dapper Labs’ partners, which also includes the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Football League (NFL). The digital collectibles company is also set to launch a similar platform for Spanish soccer’s top-flight LaLiga this year.