McFarlane Toys has signed a new licensing agreement with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Per an official press release, the collectible toy company will “immortalize some of UFC’s most iconic athletes” via a collection of six-inch ultra-detailed and fully posable action figures in addition to a new line of digital collectibles.
“Since UFC burst onto the sports scene, this brand has been growing bigger and bigger every year,” said Todd McFarlane, Founder and CEO McFarlane Toys. “It now stands as one of the premiere brands in sports, as hundreds of millions of fans globally have embraced its thrilling, non-stop action. And now, for us to be able to do some cool things with authentic-looking figures, both physically and digitally, it’s going to be a real treat. I can’t wait!”
The new UFC action figures are expected to hit shelves and online retailers worldwide this fall. Digital products will be redeemable at mcfarlanetoys.digital, offering fans a way to seamlessly integrate their physical and virtual collections.
“We’re excited to partner with McFarlane Toys, one of the most respected manufacturers of intricate collectible figures in the industry,” said Tracey Bleczinski, Senior Vice President Global Consumer Products at UFC. “UFC fans are among the most passionate in all of sports and we are confident in McFarlane’s ability to deliver authenticity to our fans with a collection of unique, accurately crafted figures, inspired by some of UFC’s most elite athletes.”
Comic Book icon Todd McFarlane brings his stories to life with McFarlane Toys
Before founding McFarlane Toys in 1994, Todd McFarlane was an accomplished comic book artist best known for his work on Amazing Spider-Man and for creating the web-slinger’s fan-favorite villains Venom and Carnage. In 1992, McFarlane broke away from Marvel Comics and established Image Comics alongside six other popular artists, including Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld.
It was there that McFarlane introduced Spawn, a horror-fantasy series he first came up with in high school before giving it a 90s-style update. Spawn was a massive hit right out of the gate with issue #1 selling 1.7 million copies. The comic is still going to this very day, printing its 350th issue in February.
Two years after the launch of Image, McFarlane teamed up with Mattel to produce action figures based on his comic book characters. After the two couldn’t come to terms on how to make the toys, McFarlane reclaimed the rights and launched his own company, McFarlane Toys.
Over the last 30 years, McFarlane Toys has produced ultra-detailed figures for practically every property under the sun, including everything from comic book characters to film icons, sports figures, and even legendary musicians like KISS and The Beatles.
Will you be picking up McFarlane’s first line of UFC action figures when they hit the market later this year?