UFC recently partnered with the Utah Sports Commission and Utah Jazz to visit Primary Children’s Hospital and the Tony Finau Foundation as part of UFC 307: PEREIRA vs. ROUNTREE fight week in Salt Lake City, Utah.
On Wednesday, former interim UFC featherweight champion Yair Rodriguez, heavyweight Curtis Blaydes, and bantamweight Cory Sandhagen kicked off the week by visiting Primary Children’s Hospital.
During the visit, each athlete spent time with pediatric patients and their families, providing inspiration and motivation along with UFC Big League Pillows, hats, blankets, and signed gloves. They also joined the hospitals new, state-of-the-art Ryan Seacrest Studios, interacting with patients that are unable to leave their rooms.
“We had a really great time visiting patients today,” said Sandhagen. “It’s cool that we get to come here and bring smiles to these kids’ faces. They do a great job at this hospital, and hopefully we get to come back soon.”
Founded in 1922, Primary Children’s Hospital is a non-profit, free-standing children’s hospital that provides quality healthcare for children with multifaceted illnesses and injuries across the United States.
On Thursday, UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad, former bantamweight champion Miesha Tate, and former BMF champion Justin Gaethje visited the Tony Finau Foundation’s Literacy Center.
Established with the mission of empowering and inspiring youth and their families to discover, develop, and achieve the best of their gifts through education, wellness, and recreation, the Tony Finau Foundation recently opened the literacy center to help provide better academic options for local youth.
"What an incredible opportunity it was for our kids to hear from world class athletes,” said Tony Finau. “Having Justin Gaethje, Belal Muhammad, and Miesha Tate at our literacy center was and is a huge deal for us. To have our students rub shoulders and interact with these champions will be something they will never forget. We're thankful for all 3 UFC CHAMPS spending time and reading with our students. They have fans for life!"
During the event, the athlete met with local student athletes for a Q&A, signed autographs, distributed literacy packages, and read to youth in grades K-8.
“It was an honor to be here with these kids today,” said Muhammad. “Being able to share life lessons during a Q&A with the high school students and then read and color with the smaller children was awesome. These kids are at an important stage in their lives where the choices they make over the next three years will help them become positive members of society, and it’s important for them to have confidence to succeed. Hopefully we were able to help motivate and inspire them.”
UFC’s corporate social responsibility program, #UFCInTheCommunity, strategically collaborates with partners, sponsors, and athletes to develop additional charitable programs and funding sources to help bolster and inspire the local community.
