The UFC announced that it has entered into a licensing deal with UK mouthguard manufacturer Opro. The deal, negotiated by IMG, will commence in 2018.
The agreement will grant Opro the right to make UFC branded mouthguards as well as bespoke guards for UFC athletes.
A portion of the UFC press release announcing the deal reads:
As part of this collaboration, OPRO will be able to brand the products and packaging for their Custom Fit, Self-Fit and Snap Fit product ranges, providing oral protection guards to athletes currently on the active roster.
“OPRO has ambitious international expansion plans for the coming years, and partnering with another hugely progressive and pioneering brand who are growing exponentially all over the world, particularly in key markets for us such as Asia and the Americas, is truly exciting,” OPRO Chief Executive Officer David Allen said. “This partnership with UFC reflects our continued growth in the combat sports market and we look forward to working with them as we kit out more and more UFC athletes with OPRO guards.”
UFC athletes will have the option of wearing mouthguards by OPRO while training or competing inside UFC’s world-famous Octagon®. OPRO will also offer UFC branded guards to combat participants and fight fans for purchase at opromouthguards.com and through a network of key global retail partners.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Payout Perspective:
This does not appear to be an exclusive relationship since the UFC has a licensing deal with U.S. mouthguard maker GuardLab. But, the deal shows that IMG is looking to regionalize licensing efforts in order to capture a broader base of partners. Opro operates out of the UK, so you might see more of the use of the brand in Europe than here in North America.
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