Stake.com has further expanded its profile in UFC via a partnership with Alex Pereira, the MMA promotion’s current light heavyweight champion.
The crypto sportsbook has been pursuing visibility in global MMA for the past years, signing agreements with some of the sport’s most prominent fighters.
Its current portfolio of UFC fighters includes Alexa Grasso, Amanda Ribas, Jailton Almeida, Alexandre Pantoja and Israel Adesanya, the latter a former middleweight champion – a title also previously held by Brazil’s Pereira.
Pereira remarked: “I’m delighted to be working with Stake.com and joining their exciting team. I’ve watched on with interest as they have become more involved with the UFC, especially Israel Adesanya.
“As I have mentioned, I would be open to training with Adesanya and I look forward to hopefully crossing paths at some point again in the future.”
As well as partnering with individual UFC athletes, Stake has also inked a deal with the promotion itself. Last month, the company partnered with Dana White’s organisation in a regional agreement, focusing particularly on Asia.
Outside of UFC, the company has been active in other areas of sports sponsorship. This has included a deal with Premier League club Everton FC and the Sauber F1 team, taking on title sponsorship of the motorsports team from Alfa Romeo.
Meanwhile, UFC has an extensive history of engaging with the crypto sector beyond betting. Crypto.com, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange platforms, is one of the Las Vegas-based promotion’s flagship partners.
Akhil Sarin, Stake’s Chief Marketing Officer, said: “We are delighted to have signed someone with the calibre and prestige of Alex Pereira to Stake.com and look forward to building a successful partnership together.
“We look forward to welcoming Alex’s fans around the world into the Stake.com family as we celebrate the exciting news about him headlining the historic UFC 300 card with one of the true icons of the Fight Game.
“Who knows, we could even see a link-up with his longtime nemesis Israel Adesanya in the future.”
