UFC formed a new multi-year global licensing agreement with Opro, a mouthguard manufacturer.
The partnership, which begins in 2018 and was negotiated by IMG, grants the oral protection company the rights to produce UFC branded mouthguards and provide bespoke guards to UFC athletes.
“Opro has been a world-renowned manufacturer of mouthguards for more than 20 years and we are thrilled to launch this new global partnership,” UFC Senior Vice President of Global Consumer Products Tracey Bleczinski said. “As an industry pioneer, Opro has designed some of the most innovative guards in sports and we look forward to delivering these premium products to UFC athletes and the combat sports community.”
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.
Opro will plan to showcase their new UFC product line in 2018 at ISPO in Munich, Germany from January 28-31, followed by Taispo from March 7-10 in Taipei, Taiwan and at IHRSA in San Diego, California, from March 21-24, alongside the rest of the Opro licensed product range.
Opro serves as the official mouthguard partner of a number of professional sporting organizations, including Great Britain Taekwondo, England Boxing, England Rugby, New Zealand Rugby, Australia Rugby and England Hockey, as well as the German, French and Italian Mixed Martial Arts Federations.
