ST. LOUIS, April 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Bud Light and Ultimate Fighting Championship® announced today a multi-year renewal of Bud Light's official beer sponsorship of the UFC®, keeping the world's best-selling beer in the center of the Octagon®.

Bud Light's sponsorship renewal with Zuffa, LLC, owner of the UFC brand, will continue to immerse the beer into all areas of the world's premier mixed martial arts organization.  The sponsorship will increase the number of featured Pay-Per-Views (PPV) Bud Light is a presenting sponsor of from two to four annually, and the brand will remain a featured sponsor of all additional PPV and television broadcasts.  Additionally, Bud Light and UFC will work together to present one special promotional event per year, beginning in 2011 with a live event in New Orleans airing on Spike TV Saturday, Sept. 17.

Bud Light is extending the New Orleans event beyond the fight night with the "Battle on the Bayou" national sweepstakes*, a three-day, two-night UFC fan experience in the Big Easy – complete with weigh-ins downtown, an exclusive concert and meet-and-greets with UFC personalities.  Beginning May 2, fans 21 and older can enter to a win a trip for two to the "Battle on the Bayou" online at www.Facebook.com/BudLight or through UFC-branded Snap Tags on Bud Light point-of-sale materials. 

"Bud Light's first three years with the UFC have focused largely on growing awareness and viewership of the sport at bars, restaurants and all the other places Bud Light is sold across the country," said Mark Wright, vice president of media, sports & entertainment marketing, Anheuser-Busch, Inc.  "Having brought the UFC to more people, we want to start bringing more people to the UFC by creating exclusive fan experiences only Bud Light and the UFC can deliver.  'Battle on the Bayou' is a first and unprecedented step in that direction."

"Bud Light's sponsorship deal with us a few years ago was a milestone for our organization and the sport," said Dana White, UFC President.  "We couldn't be more excited about working with Bud Light and continuing our strong relationship."

As part of the renewal, Bud Light will continue to receive logo placement throughout all UFC events, including in the Octagon, round cards, press conferences, weigh-ins and locker rooms.  The sponsorship also allows for integration with the UFC's digital assets – including UFC.com and UFC's Facebook and YouTube pages.  Bud Light will also release a limited edition UFC aluminum bottle, the first Bud Light bottle to bear the UFC logo.

About Anheuser-Busch

Based in St. Louis, Anheuser-Busch is the leading American brewer, holding a 48.3 percent share of U.S. beer sales to retailers.  The company brews the world's largest-selling beers, Budweiser and Bud Light.  Anheuser-Busch also owns a 50 percent share in Grupo Modelo, Mexico's leading brewer.  Anheuser-Busch is a major manufacturer of aluminum cans and has been a leading aluminum recycler for more than 30 years.  The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev, the leading global brewer, and continues to operate under the Anheuser-Busch name and logo.  For more information, visit www.anheuser-busch.com.

About Ultimate Fighting Championship

Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, and headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., UFC® produces over 12 UFC live Pay-Per-View events annually around the world.  UFC programming is distributed in the United States on Viacom, Inc.'s Spike TV and on Comcast, Inc.'s VERSUS network.  UFC content is distributed commercially through Joe Hand Promotions in the U.S. and Canadastar in Canada. Globally, UFC programming is broadcast in over 145 countries and territories, reaching 354 million homes worldwide, in 19 different languages.  

UFC® also boasts a powerful presence online, with UFC.com attracting over 6 million unique visitors per month, while also possessing one of the most powerful social media followings in all of professional sports. To date, UFC has over five million fans on Facebook and nearly 250,000 followers on Twitter.  In addition, UFC President Dana White is one of the most accessible and most followed executives in sports with nearly 1.4 million followers on Twitter.  On January 22, 2011, UFC continued to set trends in social media, becoming the first major sports league to stream live, broadcast quality action on Facebook.

Ancillary businesses include the best-selling UFC "Undisputed" videogame franchise distributed by THQ, UFC Gym™, UFC Fight Club affinity program, UFC Fan Expo™ festivals, branded apparel, trading cards, articulated action figures and other media including best-selling DVDs and a bimonthly magazine.

Ultimate Fighting Championship®, Ultimate Fighting®, UFC®, The Ultimate Fighter®, Submission®, As Real As It Gets®, Zuffa®, The Octagon™ and the eight-sided competition mat and cage design are registered trademarks, registered service marks, trademarks, trade dress and/or service marks owned exclusively by Zuffa, LLC and licensed to its affiliated entities and other licensees in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other marks referenced herein may be the property of Zuffa, LLC, its affiliates or other respective owners.

*"Battle on the Bayou" national sweepstakes open to all U.S. residents (except CA).

SOURCE Anheuser-Busch