The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the largest mixed martial arts (MMA) organization in the world, is now facing calls for a boycott after announcing a partnership with Bud Light.
The $100 million six-year sponsorship deal was announced on Tuesday — and fans are already outraged.
Bud Light has faced one of the most successful conservative boycotts in history over the past year after the brand chose to partner with “trans influencer” Dylan Mulvaney — a man who is known for dressing up as a woman and acting out an offensive caricature of femininity.
Since Bud Light committed brand assassination by partnering with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney, the beer is TANKING from a massive boycott and has already taken a $7 billion loss.
What actually happened? 🧵 pic.twitter.com/ft1qYsvnvW
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) April 12, 2023
The company faced further outrage after VP of Marketing Alissa Heinerscheid attacked the brand’s customer base as “fratty” and “out of touch” — prompting the company to put her on leave following the backlash.
Bud Light VP of Marketing believed to be the person responsible for the Dylan Mulvaney partnership has been replaced in her role at the beer brand.
Alissa Heinerscheid who uses she/her pronouns and spoke about the brand becoming more ‘inclusive’ and dropping its ‘fratty’ image… pic.twitter.com/FqLSXMU5mB
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) April 22, 2023
Despite this, Bud Light has never actually apologized for offending its customer base — and the company has lost more than $27 billion from the decision, as well as losing its status as America’s top-selling beer.
In their latest attempt to win back their customer base, executives at Bud Light have contracted with UFC as the newest major sponsor of the events.
However, many commentators have predicted that the partnership will have the opposite effect — tanking support for UFC rather than increasing support for Bud Light. Calls for a boycott have already begun — with many on social media arguing that UFC CEO Dana White’s decision was a “slap in the face” and would put “his fighters in bad spots.”
“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 made your bed with men who think they’re women, now sleep in it. I get that Dana thinks he has to take the easy money but this damages the UFC brand and puts his fighters in bad spots where they WILL speak out against it. Watch. Embarrassment awaits,” director and producer Robby Starbuck wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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
