A UFC-Powered Vision of War
Anduril, the UFC’s new defense tech partner, wants to transform warfare & surveillance with AI—and host military-themed boxing events.
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On Friday, June 12—less than 48 hours ahead of the White House propaganda spectacle known as UFC Freedom 250—the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) announced a partnership with a controversial defense tech start-up known for developing AI-powered war machines and sentry towers used to surveil the U.S.-Mexico border.
Anduril Industries is an American military technology company that was co-founded in 2017 by Palmer Luckey, the founder of the Oculus virtual reality company. Luckey sold Oculus to Meta for $2 billion in 2014 but was reportedly pressured to leave Meta after he donated to an organization built to spread anti-Hillary Clinton internet memes in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election.
Backed by venture capital funds including Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, which provided the initial seed funding, Anduril has focused on creating autonomous warfare systems and surveillance technology that incorporate AI with robotics.
According to a press release issued by the UFC, Anduril will become the “official partner” of the UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House on June 14, as well as UFC 330 in August.
Anduril will also work with Zuffa Boxing—the UFC and Saudi joint effort to reshape boxing— to stage a “competition celebrating the proud boxing traditions of America’s military academies.” Military boxers will compete on the official fight card before fellow service members and supporters, with tickets distributed broadly throughout the military community.
“As a company that represents innovation, ambition, and a forward-looking vision, Anduril is a natural fit for TKO,” said Michael DiNuzzo, Vice President, Head of U.S. Business Development at the UFC.
Named after the sword in The Lord of the Rings that was reforged to fight Sauron and the forces of evil, Anduril views itself as the next frontier in how the U.S. and its allies will defend themselves from their enemies. Its ongoing projects include “Fury,” an AI-powered semi-autonomous unmanned combat aerial vehicle designed to operate alongside a manned aircraft. According to Anduril, Fury has the “flexibility to integrate a variety of first or third-party sensors and payloads to support the mission requirements.”
Anduril has also manufactured drones and surveillance tech that is being used at the U.S. border, including the AL-based surveillance towers dubbed the “Sentry.” As of 2024, the Sentry provides coverage for approximately 30% of the U.S. southern land border.