The Ultimate Fighting Championship mixed martial arts promotion has entered into a partnership with Hospital for Special Surgery.
The multi-year deal names HSS as UFC’s first-ever official hospital. The agreement will grant UFC access to HSS’s sports medicine physicians, who will work with the organisation’s medical team.
Under the agreement, HSS will benefit from brand exposure at select UFC events, as well as digital and social advertising and UFC-based corporate social responsibility programs.
Bryan Kelly, managing director and chief of HSS’s sports medicine service, will serve as UFC’s head consulting orthopedic surgeon as part of the agreement. Kelly will lead a team of HSS orthopedic surgeons who will be on-call during UFC events for orthopedic consultation.
The two parties will also work together on the recruitment and placement of physical therapists who will be on-site at the HSS Sports Rehabilitation Center at the UFC Performance Institute.
Kelly said: “Injuries are an inherent by-product of playing sports especially at the elite and professional levels. HSS has helped thousands of athletes get back in the game and offers unmatched orthopedic care. We look forward to working with the UFC to keep players healthy and safe.”
HSS specialises in musculoskeletal health and is the first designated national medical centre of the United States Olympic Committee’s (USOC) national medical network. It also serves as a medical centre of excellence for Fifa, football’s global governing body.