Market Updates
UFC and Thorne Renew and Enhance Global Partnership
The supplement brand, a UFC partner since 2019, will now be a premier partner of the organization’s anti-doping program.

By: Mike Montemarano

Photo: andy_gin | Adobe Stock
Supplement brand Thorne and the UFC mixed martial arts organization have renewed their global partnership with new arrangements.
Throne has been a UFC partner since 2019, and remains the official sports performance nutrition partner of the organization and an official partner of the UFC Performance Institute, a combat sports performance training, research, rehabilitation, and nutrition center with locations in Las Vegas, Mexico City, and Shanghai.
UFC will continue to integrate Thorne’s line of NSF Certified for Sport products into supplement plans created by UFC’s registered dietitians and coaches for the athletes training under the UFC Performance Institute’s guidance.
Under the present renewal, Thorne will become a premier partner of UFC’s anti-doping program. Since the organization began offering Thorne’s NSF Certified for Sport products to athletes in 2019, these products have not been linked to any incidents of failed drug tests from contaminants. To underscore the importance of competing clean, Thorne will help UFC athletes celebrate “clean test milestones” throughout the year with branded content distributed across UFC’s social media platforms.
“Our team at the UFC Performance Institute is ecstatic about the renewal and extension of our partnership with Thorne,” said Duncan French, PhD, senior vice president of the UFC Performance Institute. “The deployment and distribution of Thorne products touches every part of our global operation, from supporting athletes at UFC events and promoting better health and well-being after competition, to providing critical supplements, vitamins, and nutrients that optimize training responses. Thorne is perfectly aligned with our philosophies and represents ‘best in class’ when it comes to offering performance solutions that impact athlete success.”
“We are taking our UFC partnership to the next level this year in a magnitude of ways,” said Colin Watts, CEO of Thorne. “As Thorne continues to scale, the opportunity we have to help shape not just the UFC athlete performance nutrition protocols but also provide the best sports performance supplements and resources to UFC fans is a really important part of why we partner with UFC. Fans can expect to see more, hear more, and learn more about Thorne over the next year through different UFC channels and at UFC X, the organization’s fully immersive two-day fan experience.”
“UFC’s relationship with Thorne is in direct correlation with the significant reduction in contaminated supplement cases we have seen in our anti-doping program over the years,” said Jeff Novitzky, senior vice president of the UFC’s anti-doping compliance. “In addition, Thorne has played a major role in helping UFC athletes achieve ‘clean test milestones’ that we regularly celebrate and which have become a popular element of our anti-doping program. UFC athletes want the world to know about the considerable efforts they put forth to prove that they are clean athletes, and the safety and efficacy of Thorne supplements have been integral to that process.”
Thorne branding will also be integrated into a variety of UFC assets, such as the “locker room cam” broadcast feature during the main card of all UFC pay-per-views, providing Thorne with significant visibility before an audience estimated to be over 700 million fans in 170 countries, and an estimated 975 million households that receive UFC’s broadcasts.
UFC and Thorne will also collaborate on original content to be distributed throughout UFC’s digital and social channels, which reach more than 290 million users worldwide, according to the organization.
Thorne will continue to be featured as a presenting partner of select segments of ‘Embedded,’ UFC’s video content series featuring top athletes. The agreement also provides for a brand ambassador program that features additional appearances, content, and creative campaigns with notable UFC athletes.