October 9, 2026- UFC® announced a multiyear extension of its longstanding collaboration with Cleveland Clinic, continuing its support of the Professional Athletes Brain Health Study through 2030. WWE® and Zuffa Boxing, which, together with UFC, are part of TKO Group Holdings will also join the study through athlete participation and financial support. This renewed commitment, which is backed by a $1 million contribution from UFC to the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas, ensures that research will continue to help determine the long-term effects of repetitive head trauma and factors that put people at higher risk of developing chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Since joining the landmark study in 2011, UFC has committed more than $3 million via four rounds of financial support.
Now entering its 15th year, this study, led by Charles Bernick, M.D., senior director of Cognitive Disorders at Cleveland Clinic Nevada, is the largest focused on professional athletes who have been exposed to repetitive head trauma and the first to include retired and active male and female athletes concurrently.