TKO Group Holdings, the parent company of the UFC, announced a multi-year partnership with Polymarket, establishing the prediction market platform as the exclusive official prediction market partner for both the UFC and Zuffa Boxing. The deal will directly integrate prediction market technology into live broadcasts and fan experiences, moving swiftly after the NHL’s announcement of similar agreements with Kalshi and Polymarket in October.
The UFC and Polymarket
The core feature of this partnership centers on a Fan Prediction Scoreboard that will display during UFC fights, showing in real-time how millions of fans worldwide are forecasting the outcome of each bout. This scoreboard differs from traditional sports betting in that it visualizes collective sentiment rather than odds set by bookmakers.
Shayne Coplan, founder and CEO of Polymarket, explained the mechanics during a CNBC interview, noting that the platform allows fans to buy and sell predictions throughout a fight as momentum shifts. “What’s exciting about our approach is that you can actually buy and sell, you can trade, just like a stock throughout the fight,” Coplan said. The scoreboard will appear measuring the “pulse” of the audience in real time for every UFC event.
Prediction markets operate differently from traditional sportsbooks like FanDuel and DraftKings. Rather than wagering on fixed odds, users trade yes-or-no contracts on specific outcomes, for example, whether a particular fighter will win a given round. Each contract trades at a price between zero and one dollar, with the price reflecting the market’s collective assessment of that outcome’s probability. As new information emerges during a fight, a fighter’s performance, an injury, or a shift in strategy, traders adjust their positions, and prices move accordingly. This continuous adjustment creates what market operators describe as a dynamic aggregation of crowd intelligence.
Ariel Emanuel, executive chair and CEO of TKO, stated that the partnership would unlock a new dimension of fan engagement. “By partnering with Shayne and his team at Polymarket, we’re unlocking a new dimension of fan engagement. Integrating Polymarket with the UFC and Zuffa Boxing live experience will help fans interact with these events in real time, transforming passive viewership into active participation.”
The deal extends beyond live broadcasts. UFC and Polymarket will collaborate on a social media series titled “Matchup Predictions – Who’s Next?” that will run across official UFC channels including Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and X following UFC events.
Polymarket’s entry into this exclusive arrangement comes amid significant shifts in the company’s regulatory standing. After settling with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in 2022 for operating as an unregistered derivatives platform, Polymarket faced restrictions on U.S. operations.
In July 2025, the CFTC and Department of Justice concluded their investigations without bringing new charges. Shortly after, Polymarket acquired QCEX, a CFTC-licensed derivatives exchange and clearinghouse, in a $112 million deal, establishing the legal framework necessary to operate in the United States. The timing of this partnership arrives amid heightened scrutiny on UFC betting integrity. Dana White, UFC president, revealed in early November that the FBI is investigating suspicious betting activity surrounding a UFC Fight Night event on November 1, 2025
Polymarket founder Shayne Coplan has become notable within the tech and finance spaces. Born in 1998, Coplan founded Polymarket in 2020 after dropping out of New York University, initially building the platform from his bathroom during the pandemic. His investment in Ethereum during its 2014 initial coin offering shaped his early understanding of blockchain technology and cryptocurrency. In October 2025, after receiving an investment from Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, Coplan became recognized as the world’s youngest self-made billionaire at age 27, with Polymarket valued at $9 billion.
The partnership includes implications for Zuffa Boxing, TKO’s boxing promotion scheduled to launch in January 2026. Polymarket will serve as the first official brand partner of Zuffa Boxing, providing in-arena activations and digital content for upcoming fights beginning in 2026. The scope of this agreement signals that prediction market integration may extend across multiple combat sports properties simultaneously.
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