Toyo Tires Continues Backing UFC 

Japanese tyre maker Toyo Tires renews its sponsorship deal with major MMA property UFC.    

Under the multi-year deal, the Japanese tyre maker will remain the UFC’s official tyre for another three years, bringing its total time as a corporate sponsor of the MMA circuit to an impressive two decades.

The new partnership also increases responsibilities for Toyo’s advertising, content plays, and hospitality. Besides this, Toyo will continue to leverage on UFC athletes for endorsements, run UFC-themed ad campaigns, and have its brand’s logo inside the octagon at events in the United States.

UFC SVP/Global Partnerships Grant Norris-Jones, said, “We’re getting meetings that we haven’t before, so hopefully, that means knocking down new categories. We see ourselves as highly complementary properties; now we have to go prove that.”

Furthermore, Norris-Jones also referred to the current financial year as a record year for sponsorship; mainly buttressed by blockbuster deals with American brewery behemoth AB InBev and USAF’s Air National Guard. 

According to ASN data, Toyo Tires (1.4%, US$2.6m+) is outside the Top 10 spenders for its category in the Asian sponsorship market, and this has been largely attributed to a subdued first three quarters of 2024. However, Q423 is tipped to a brighter one with sponsorship spending expected to hit US$308k, about 26.3% higher than the Japanese tyre maker’s average quarterly investment of almost US$244k. All its spends tend to be in its domestic turf, namely backing top tier J-League team Gamba Osaka FC and motorsports properties there.