One of the biggest news hitting the social media is the new partnership between UFC and Snapchat. The partnership is based on the overlapping demographics of Snapchat and UFC and their desire to bring the top-quality content to their fans and users. Based on the recent research, the current UFC fan base is averaging around 40 years of age and is around 40% millennial. Now, in the USA, Snapchat claims that they reach 90% of all 13-to-24-year-olds and around 75% of all 13-to-34-year-olds. This means that this partnership can attract younger generations to the UFC, grooming whole new generations of fans for the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

What can we expect to see?

Considering that MMA promotion has decided to put tailored shows and stories on Snapchat social platform there will be no lack of the finest content available. Now according to the partnership deal, on Snapchat’s Discover page, we will get to see the UFC Pulse and Embedded franchises in the form of Snapchat shows. As it stands the UFC Pulse is to air on Snapchat three times a week, and fans will also get the opportunity to check out a ‘Top Five’ episode showcasing the best submissions and knockouts along with specific episodes covering the emotionally charged weigh-ins. So yes, you will have a whole new channel to access names like Nate Diaz or Max Holloway. And as for Embedded, it is meant to provide Snapchat users with some of the most thrilling behind-the-scenes insights into how the UFC stars prepare for their fights, things they were never privy to before.

But wait, there’s more! The UFC organization and Snapchat are also planning on collaborating on a minimum of 20 Our Stories features. These are meant to cover weekly bouts and tentpole events all year long, including the staggering number of 12 pay-per-views (PPV) and eight UFC Fight Nights. Finally, just to make things a bit more interesting for their avid fans, they plan to offer filters for fans to use at events to decorate their snaps.

So, what does mean for the fans?

For this partnership to work and be fruitful for both parties involved the fans need to be on board. So, everything they have come up with is to make UFC and Snapchat more fun and entertaining for their fans and to hopefully pull in some younger demographic to this sport. The perspective of getting to see Paige VanZant getting ready for her next match might be very appealing to a number of her loyal fans, and they will probably throw themselves at the opportunity to get that behind-the-scenes look of their favorite athlete. According to Anmol Malhotra, Snap’s Head of Sports Partnerships they want to “make being a UFC fan more fun no matter where you are”, and he added that Snapchat is “thrilled” to have UFC utilizing all of what they have to offer from content to creative tools.

This can mean a whole new chapter for UFC fans and Snapchat users. The fact of the matter is with all that is offered interaction with the best of the best fighters and champions, getting the coveted behind-the-scenes look as well as interesting filters to use at each and every event, the fans will be far more proactive, sharing and promoting the events on their own and routing for their favorite male and female fighters. The direct interaction that is offered by a social media channel such as Snapchat is bound to the UFC to a whole new level.

So, stay tuned for these great changes that are coming from the newly struck Snapchat and UFC partnership. We are yet to see what the final outcome will be, but according to the current online reactions, this might be the smartest move the Ultimate Fighting Championship has made to ensure new generations of fans for years and years to come. And according to David Shaw, the UFC’s SVP of International and Content, Snapchat is considered to be one of the world’s leading mobile storytelling platforms, and the UFC is extremely happy to have the opportunity to partner up with them with the goal of engaging with new and existing UFC fans. As well as getting the opportunity to generate far greater and involved viewership of all the high-profile upcoming events.