USA Wrestling announced that the UFC will be an official sponsor of the 2015 World Wrestling Championships. The event will be held from September 7-12th at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The event is a qualifier of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
Via USA Wrestling press release:
“We’ve had numerous athletes that have gone on from our National and Olympic teams to great success in UFC, including trailblazing athletes like two-time Olympians Dan Henderson and Daniel Cormier and Olympic champion Henry Cejudo. With UFC located in Las Vegas, it made a lot of sense for both organizations to partner on this historic event,” said USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender.
According to the press release, more than 800 athletes are expected to compete in the six-day competition over three Olympic disciplines, Greco-Roman, women’s freestyle and men’s freestyle.
It will be the first time since 2003 that the United States has hosted a Senior World Wrestling Championship event and the first time in Las Vegas.
Payout Perspective:
The sponsorship makes sense based on the number of successful wrestlers in the UFC and the fact that amateur wrestling is arguably the most important discipline in MMA. Clearly the UFC will be watching the event closely hoping to scoop young and upcoming wrestlers that might have transferable skills for MMA. In the past, USA Wrestling has sponsored UFC events with octagon signage so this is a type of reciprocity.
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