Announcements
UFC AND TRUE CLASSIC ANNOUNCE OFFICIAL PARTNERSHIP
True Classic Named Official Basics Wear Partner of UFC
Las Vegas, March 6, 2025 – UFC®, the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization and part of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO), and True Classic, the fastest growing direct-to-consumer premium menswear brand, today announced a new marketing partnership that will showcase True Classic within all UFC events in 2025.
Under the new agreement, True Classic will become the Official Basics Wear Partner of UFC in the United States and will strategically activate its brand within all UFC Pay Per Views and Fight Nights, leveraging UFC’s massively popular promotional assets that surround each event.
“We are excited to welcome True Classic to the UFC family and introduce them to millions of UFC fans around the world,” said Alex Kaptsan, Vice President, Head of Entertainment & Digital, Global Partnerships for TKO. “True Classic makes amazing basics apparel that helps the average Joe look good and feel good. Led by a visionary CEO Ryan Barlett, they are also passionate about philanthropy and giving back to fans, which is a value we share and a key element we look for in our partnerships.”
"I’ve been an MMA fan since UFC 1 back in the early 90s,” said Ryan Barlett, True Classic Co-Founder and Chairman. “I’ll never forget being amazed watching Royce Gracie, who looked very unassuming on the surface, take down a much larger Ken Shamrock in less than a minute. I was hooked and had a new appreciation for the art of MMA from that point on. Now coming full circle, it’s a bit surreal to be joining forces with UFC, and I couldn’t be more excited for what's to come."
Branded Entitlements and Activations
As the Official Basics Wear Partner of UFC, True Classic will be integrated into broadcast features throughout the Main Card of select UFC Pay Per Views, universally recognized as the biggest events in combat sports. In addition, True Classic will receive prominent brand placement inside the world-famous Octagon® at all Pay-Per-Views and Fight Nights, providing True Classic with meaningful visibility before more than 700 million fans in 170 countries, as well as an estimated 950 million households that receive UFC’s broadcasts.
Beyond the Octagon, UFC and True Classic will collaborate to creatively engage with fans through original content that will be distributed via UFC’s popular digital and social channels that reach more than 300 million users worldwide. Highlights will include ticket giveaways for every UFC Pay-Per-View event hosted in the U.S. and ‘True Classic Moments,’ in which UFC will post a fan-favorite flashback to one of the many legendary match ups in UFC’s storied history.
True Classic and UFC will also look to collaborate on a variety of community initiatives throughout the year, combining their shared commitment to supporting and uplifting local communities.
True Classic will next activate the partnership at UFC 313: PEREIRA vs. ANKALAEV on Sat., March 8 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The event features a blockbuster light heavyweight championship tilt that sees Alex Pereira defend against No. 1 ranked contender Magomed Ankalaev. Also, No. 3 ranked lightweight contender Justin Gaethje battles No. 11 Rafael Fiziev in a five round co-main event guaranteed to deliver fireworks. True Classic will also be launching their Las Vegas based store at the Fashion Show Mall this weekend on Sun., March 9.