The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Anheuser-Busch have struck a 6-year marketing partnership deal. The hope is to turn Bud Light’s sales around. The deal goes into effect on January 1, 2024.

The boycott that Bud Light customers took part in was very successful in its protest of the company’s venture into the woke world. Bud Light customers were not interested in seeing a trans social media influencer heralded with his picture on a can of beer and posts on social media. Bud Light drinkers are the salt of the earth and don’t want political statements with their beer. Bud Light sales plummeted, as did its stock value. Bud Light is no longer the number one selling beer. It has been replaced by Modelo Especial, which has partnered with UFC since 2017. Bud Light will replace Modelo Especial, which is distributed by Constellation Brands.

The sponsorship deal is “well into the nine figures,” and the largest in the mixed martial arts promotion’s history, a source familiar with the deal told CNBC on Tuesday.

As part of the agreement, Bud Light will receive exclusive and prominent branding at UFC fights and events, as well as in-arena promotion. In addition, the brewer will collaborate on original content for UFC’s digital and social channels.

UFC is considered more conservative than other U.S. sports leagues. UFC CEO Dana White, for example, donated at least $1M to a Trump-supporting PAC in the 2020 presidential campaign. Trump appeared at a UFC event in Las Vegas earlier this year. UFC and Anheuser-Busch’s relationship goes back to 2008. Then, in 2017, Modelo was named the official beer sponsor.

White said he wanted the partnership because Anheuser-Busch and Bud Light are aligned with UFC’s core values.

“Anheuser-Busch and Bud Light were UFC’s original beer sponsors more than fifteen years ago. I’m proud to announce we are back in business together,” White said.

“There are many reasons why I chose to go with Anheuser-Busch and Bud Light, most importantly because I feel we are very aligned when it comes to our core values and what the UFC brand stands for,” he added.

No, not the trans agenda but what the brewery was known for before the woke marketing executive at Bud Light tanked the company. Anheuser-Busch is not only a huge employer with 65,000 employees, but the company focuses on the good. It supports American farmers by buying its ingredients domestically. Anheuser-Busch sponsors a program called Folds of Honor. That program provides educational scholarships for the families of fallen and disabled service members and first responders. UFC supports the military and law enforcement.

The partnership is a way for Bud Light to try to get back to normal. Will it work? It seems like it will be a challenge because so many Bud Light drinkers say they’ll never go back to it, especially with so many other beers available on the market. Consumers were really offended, rightly so, and felt betrayed. The marketing department of Bud Light was clueless as to who its customers are and that was unacceptable.

News of the deal Tuesday brought calls for a boycott of UFC.

The announcement of the Bud Light partnership a day later garnered blowback for UFC, with people posting on X, formerly Twitter, saying they’re “done” watching the MMA fights.

X user TheRealMattDail took aim at UFC chief executive officer Dana White in a post on the social media platform and called for a boycott.

“@danawhite and @ufc, you have become the reason why your audience will begin to dwindle,” TheRealMattDail posted. “Pandering to Bud Light is disgusting. Guess it’s time to boycott UFC, America!”

We’ll have to wait and see if UFC fans believe White when he says the deal was made because Anheuser-Busch and Bud Light were UFC’s original beer sponsors more than 15 years ago.