UFC has announced a partnership with Dapper Labs, the company behind the Flow blockchain and NBA Top Shot, to launch a new NFT collectible series called UFC Strike. According to the announcement, the first release is scheduled for January 23 and will feature memorable moments from UFC fights, including striking exchanges, grappling sequences, and highlight finishes.
Dapper Labs Expands Further Into Sports Collectibles
The deal marks another step in Dapper Labs’ broader push across major sports properties. After finding success with NBA Top Shot and later expanding into football-related digital collectibles, the company is now moving into mixed martial arts through one of the world’s most recognized combat sports brands.
UFC, founded in 1993, has grown into a global sports and entertainment business. The promotion says it has more than 625 million fans worldwide and broadcasts events to 900 million households across roughly 175 countries. With that scale, the launch of UFC Strike reflects how sports organizations continue to explore blockchain-based fan products as a new layer of engagement.
First Drop Includes 200,000 Total Packs
Dapper Labs said the UFC Strike rollout will begin with an open drop of 200,000 total packs. The initial release will consist of 100,000 “Fully Loaded” packs, each containing three NFT Moments. These digital collectibles are expected to capture some of the promotion’s most recognizable and talked-about fight scenes.
Among the fighters referenced in the announcement are Francis Ngannou, Amanda Nunes, Kamaru Usman, Rose Namajunas, Derrick Lewis, and Justin Gaethje. The project is positioned as a way for MMA fans to own officially licensed digital representations of historic UFC action.
The company described the collection as an opportunity for fans to collect some of the “most epic” moments in UFC history. Rather than focusing only on still images, the packs will include video-based highlight moments, following the collectible format that helped NBA Top Shot become one of the best-known names in the NFT sector.
Pricing, Access, and Marketplace Plans
According to the announcement, buyers will be able to access the drop through ufcstrike.com, where users can enter a queue to purchase packs. Pricing for the launch has been set at $50 per pack, while supplies last.
Dapper Labs also said UFC Strike is expected to grow over the coming months. Future drops are planned to align closely with the UFC event calendar, suggesting that major fight nights and headline cards could become part of the product’s release strategy. In addition, the platform is expected to add a peer-to-peer marketplace, giving fans the ability to buy, sell, and trade their Moments directly with one another.
Why UFC Chose Dapper Labs
Tracey Bleczinski, UFC’s senior vice president of global consumer products, said the promotion views Dapper Labs as an innovator in the field. She said the company’s vision for the long-term potential of digital collectibles was a key reason UFC selected Dapper Labs as its NFT partner.
Her comments underline a broader theme across sports media and entertainment: leagues and promotions are no longer treating NFTs as one-off experiments alone, but increasingly as part of a larger fan engagement and digital commerce strategy. For UFC, a product built around officially licensed fight highlights fits naturally with a fan base that closely follows memorable knockouts, submissions, and title-fight moments.
UFC’s Broader Crypto and Blockchain Push
The UFC Strike launch does not come in isolation. UFC has already shown growing interest in crypto and blockchain partnerships. In July 2021, the promotion entered a partnership with Crypto.com, signaling a willingness to work with digital asset companies on sponsorship and fan-facing initiatives.
The organization also previously revealed an NFT collection tied to UFC 268: Usman vs. Covington 2. More recently, heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou told fans he had partnered with Cash App and intended to take half of his UFC 270 purse in bitcoin. Taken together, these developments show that UFC’s relationship with crypto is expanding across both corporate partnerships and athlete-level adoption.
A Familiar Model With a New Audience
Dapper Labs is entering this launch with a well-established template. NBA Top Shot, its flagship NFT collectibles platform, became one of the most visible blockchain consumer products during the NFT boom. According to the source material, NBA Top Shot has recorded $776.49 million in all-time sales across 492,039 traders. While UFC Strike targets a different fan base, the underlying idea is similar: package officially licensed sports highlights into collectible digital assets and build an ecosystem around ownership, scarcity, and trading.
That model may be especially relevant for combat sports, where iconic moments often carry lasting emotional value for fans. A title-winning knockout, a dramatic comeback, or a famous submission can quickly become part of the sport’s long-term cultural memory. UFC Strike is designed to convert that emotional value into digital collectibles that can be owned and exchanged online.
What the Launch Signals
The partnership between UFC and Dapper Labs highlights the continuing convergence of sports media, blockchain infrastructure, and digital collectibles. For Dapper Labs, it is another expansion of its sports portfolio. For UFC, it adds a new monetization and engagement channel tied directly to its archive of fight content and global fan base.
Whether UFC Strike ultimately replicates the commercial momentum of NBA Top Shot remains to be seen, but the structure of the launch is clear: a large initial pack release, recognizable athletes, accessible pricing, and a planned secondary marketplace. Those elements suggest that both companies are aiming to build a recurring digital collectible product rather than a one-time NFT drop.
As more sports leagues and entertainment brands evaluate blockchain-based products, UFC Strike may serve as another test case for how far officially licensed sports NFTs can extend beyond basketball and into other fan communities. For now, the immediate focus is on the January 23 debut and the market’s response to the first 100,000 packs of UFC-themed digital Moments.