Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s UFC card set the stage for Metaverse VR occasions

The opposite shoe has lastly dropped within the thriller of simply what the hell the UFC was considering once they closed the doorways of their Apex facility to media and the general public for UFC Battle Evening: Dern vs. Yan earlier this October.

The fundamental motivations behind the choice grew to become clear on the evening of the occasion itself, when—regardless of heavy denials within the days prior—Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was noticed sitting cageside as one in every of a really choose few individuals in attendance. Whether or not one of many world’s richest males had, in reality, rented out the entire occasion like a it was a laser-tag birthday celebration or the UFC had merely determined to reward him with sole occupancy was purely pedantic. Regardless of the case, the Endeavor-owned combat promotion had given itself over to at least one excessive profile visitor.

Now we all know why.

The UFC introduced on Thursday, October thirteenth, that they’ve formally partnered with Zuckerberg’s Meta firm to ship on-demand VR MMA occasions. Within the close to future followers will be capable to entry VR feeds of MMA playing cards on the Battle Move platform (h/t MMA Fighting).

“We are excited to offer an unprecedented level of engagement for Fight Pass subscribers and MMA fans around the world by producing a live MMA event in virtual reality,” Crowley Sullivan, Battle Move vice chairman and common supervisor is quoted as saying. “With Meta providing the VR platform and YBVR lending their production expertise, we’re confident this will be a great experience for fight fans.”

The primary occasion to be hosted by way of this new platform can be LFA 144: Gafurov vs. Silva. Which will be accessed via the Meta Horizon Worlds app. That card takes place this Friday, October 14th, in Sioux Falls, SD. Followers who join the digital actuality feed will apparently get entry to a 180 diploma panorama view of the combat combat card, and the power to see and chat with different VR followers stay. No phrase but on what pricing will seem like for future VR occasions.

The transfer has apparently been a long-term objective of Dana White’s. As far back as February, the UFC President was teasing his hopes for bringing the UFC to digital actuality someday within the close to future.

“We’re looking to do a fight in the Metaverse,” White enthused. “We’ve been working on it for a while. It’ll be a live fight, an actual fight that takes place inside the metaverse.”

“It’d be kids at home, you put on your (goggles) and you can (get) up and go walk around. We’re still working it out, but yeah, it’ll be soon. We’ll be doing a fight in the metaverse. It’ll be a real fight.”