UFC AND Crypto.com partner for UFC Freedom 250 White House event co-presented by Crypto.com

The UFC and Crypto.com have partnered for the UFC Freedom 250 White House event, co-presented by Crypto.com, to commemorate the 250th birthday of the United States. Crypto.com will also be celebrating its 10th anniversary and has set aside a $1 million bonus pool for selected fighters, to be paid out in CRO (the native crypto of the Cronos ecosystem).

The CRO bonus is part of the bonuses awarded by UFC President and CEO Dana White to fighters participating in the traditional Fight of the Night and Performance on Sunday, June 14. According to Crypto.com, $1 million is equal to approximately 14.4 million CRO based on exchange rates as of Friday, April 10. Details regarding how fighters will share the CRO bonus will be shared at a later date.

Meanwhile, the UFC President and CEO asserts that this year’s event will be the most historic yet, as every fight could be the Fight of the Night. She also adds that the $1 million in prize money will be the largest bonus given to fighters in UFC history. The UFC and Crypto.com relationship goes back to 2021, when the crypto platform was named UFC’s first-ever official Fight Night Kit partner.

UFC Freedom 250 to feature UFC’s biggest stars  

The UFC Freedom 250 will feature some of UFC’s biggest stars, representing the world’s best MMA fighters in more than 75 countries. Notably, UFC lightweight champion and No. 2-ranked pound-for-pound fighter Ilia Topuria (Georgia) will take on interim UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje (U.S.) in the main event. 

The co-main event will pit former UFC middleweight and light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira (Brazil) against former interim UFC heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane (U.S.). Pereira is attempting to win a UFC title in an unprecedented third weight class. 

More fight events will include the Bantamweight bout, where Sean O’Malley (U.S.) will trade blows with Alemann Zahabi (Canada), and the lightweight bout, which will pit Mauricio Ruffy (Brazil) against Michael Chandler (U.S.). Bo Nickal and Kyle Daukaus, both from the U.S., will lock horns in the middleweight bout, while Diego Lopez (Brazil) will face Steve Garcia (U.S.) in the featherweight bout. 

“I can think of no better way to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Crypto.com than by making history at the White House…As a pillar of our partnership, we’re proud to support the world’s best Mixed Martial Artists with an opportunity to win the largest prize in UFC history.”

• Kris Marszalek, Co-Founder and CEO of Crypto.com

Meanwhile, the UFC Freedom 250 will be exclusively distributed in the U.S. by Paramount+. The UFC produces over 40 live events annually in some of the most prestigious arenas around the world while distributing programming to more than 950 million broadcast and digital households across over 210 countries and territories. 

On the other hand, the MMA organization has over 700 million fans and nearly 353 million social media followers. The UFC is expected to cater to this group through its digital offerings, including the “UFC FIGHT PASS” combat sports streaming service.