UltimateBet Signs Marketing Deal with Chuck Liddell for UFC 97

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UltimateBet Signs Marketing Deal with Chuck Liddell for UFC 97

Lance Bradley | April 7, 2009

In a matter of weeks Mixed Martial Arts fans will be flocking to Montreal for UFC 97 to see Anderson Silva, Cheick Kongo and one of the biggest stars in MMA Chuck Liddell. Joining them will be the UFC’s newest sponsor, online poker room UltimateBet.com.

The company announced late Monday that they had secured a sponsorship with UFC to have billboards as well as commercials inside the Bell Centre during the event. The biggest news however is that the online poker room has secured the rights to sponsor MMA superstar Liddell for his bout with Mauricio ‘Shogun ‘Rua as well as four other fighters.

The announcement comes only a week after Martin Kampmann donned the UB logo on his shorts for his fight on UFC Fight Night on April 1. The move seems to cement the thought that Full Tilt Poker, which had previously enjoyed a major marketing partnership with the UFC, had been surplanted by UltimateBet as an accepted UFC sponsor.

“UltimateBet developed a taste for UFC with the recent sponsorship of welterweight fighter Martin Kampmann on April 1, and the UFC 97 collaboration will further satisfy the company’s appetite for premium sponsorships that represent various levels of opportunity, and that shine the spotlight on UB as the ultimate online poker experience,” the company said in a statement.

The speed with which the two companies switched places could lead to an interesting scenario in Montreal. For the past two months Full Tilt has been running a series of freerolls for Canadian players that would see them travel by train with Howard Lederer, Erick Lindgren and Gavin Smith to see UFC 97. Given the relatively quick notice it is unlikely that Full Tilt would cancel their promotion.

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