UFC^®, the world's premier mixed martial arts organization, today announced a strategic partnership with FoodStory Brands (FSB), an award-winning incubator and disruptive innovator in the consumer-packaged goods (CPG) food and beverage space, to develop and launch a high-performance, nutritionist-backed protein bar for the fast-growing performance nutrition category. The partnership was brokered by UFC's licensing agent, IMG Licensing.

This groundbreaking collaboration merges the UFC Performance Institute (UFC PI), the world's leading combat sports performance training, research, rehabilitation, and nutrition center, with FoodStory Brands' expertise in scaling disruptive, high-quality food brands. The result will be an exciting and compelling new brand, to be announced later this year, and a line of elevated and innovative high-protein bars with targeted functional ingredients, leveraging research-driven nutrition to meet the demands of UFC athletes as well as performance-minded consumers.

"By bringing together the UFC Performance Institute's experience working daily with the world's best combat sport athletes and FoodStory's ability to turn bold ideas into high-quality consumer products, we have a powerful combination," said Dr. Duncan French, Senior Vice President, UFC Performance Institute. "Through close collaboration, we have developed a protein bar that reflects how athletes train, fuel, and recover, and we are making this available to general consumers. We believe this partnership has produced something truly unique that will stand out as a leader in the market and raise the standards for performance nutrition."

"At FoodStory Brands, we pride ourselves on creating meaningful brand stories and amazing products backed by powerful consumer insight and innovation," said Jordan Jedeikin, EVP Business Development at FoodStory Brands. "Collaborating with UFC—a global powerhouse in performance, endurance, and innovation—gives us a unique opportunity to bring a nutritionist-backed, high-performance protein bar to market that's designed for both elite athletes and everyday achievers."

UFC opened the first Performance Institute at UFC headquarters in Las Vegas in 2017, followed by facilities in Shanghai in 2019 and Mexico City in 2024. Since its inception, the UFC PI has become an essential resource for UFC athletes around the world, supporting over 80% of the roster through in-person coaching, remote interactions, or UFC event services. In addition to supporting athletes locally in China and Mexico, the UFC PI Shanghai and Mexico City locations serve as training hubs to develop MMA athletes from the greater Asia and Latin America regions, respectively.

FoodStory Brands has emerged as one of the fastest-growing innovators in the CPG food and beverage sector, specializing in curating brands that bring disruption and revitalization to mature categories. The company scaled Fresh Cravings into a national $100 million refrigerated dips brand, developed an award-winning Yellowstone licensing program that has driven over $100 million in sales, and continues to expand its portfolio with innovative national launches like Upper Cut (America's Fastest Growing Deli Snack Brand) and Mad Genius (a new Gen Z focused frozen snacks and apps mashup brand).