Fight Night You Can See From Space

PRESENTED BY TROVA TRIP

Welcome to Thursday, FutureParty fam. Here’s a shocking update for all you Olympic breakdance fans out there (all dozens and dozens of you): Australian Rachael Gunn (aka Raygun), who set the internet ablaze with memes for her baffling performance last month, is now the #1 ranked breakdancer in the world. Crazy, we know. How’d this happen? It’s all thanks to some loose rules set forth by the World DanceSport Federation. In other words, victory on a technicality. Amazing.

DAILY TOP TRENDS

The UFC’s Biggest Fight

The UFC is gearing up to debut the first-ever, live sporting event inside the Sphere in Las Vegas with UFC 306 on Saturday, September 14th, which will broadcast all across the world.

The Big Picture (literally): Sports and entertainment have been blending for decades, but it feels like they’ve been supercharged over the past decade. By literally blending immersive entertainment with live sports, the UFC may just redefine what event-viewing means.

Behind the Curtain: UFC 306, which will be a “love letter to the Mexican people” on Mexican Independence Day (per UFC boss Dana White), is the most ambitious undertaking in the brand’s history.

• It cost $20 million to outfit the venue and produce all the accompanying content for the event, which includes 45 cameras to capture the action, six short films produced by Carlos Lopez Estrada’s Antigravity Academy, and of course, two title fights.

• It comes with its fair share of technical challenges, including the fact that it isn’t possible to have a 360-degree view of the ring — a key feature of a UFC event.

• TKO president Mark Shapiro isn’t even sure if the event will be profitable but instead views it as a “brand-builder” that takes the company to the next level. That said, ticket sales are trending to be the highest ever — beating UFC 205’s $17 million.

The Future: The Sphere events come at a crucial time for the UFC, which is set to renegotiate its media rights deal with ESPN next year. Research firm MoffettNathanson estimates that the UFC could nab $450 million a year for its next contract, up from $300 million… and another $450 million a year for rights to pay-per-view events, up from $260 million. Yeah, it’s nothing to sneeze at. And if the UFC’s ambitious Sphere plans are realized and embraced by fans, a patent on how to pull them off (which one TKO board member said White should file for) could be a massive new revenue stream.

Go Deeper: White had the idea for a UFC event at the Sphere while watching U2’s groundbreaking concert at the venue, which is just a gift that keeps on giving.

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TikTok Takes Off for Travel

TikTok is leaning harder into travel after data showed the platform has become a key tool for users to discover new destinations, build itineraries, and even buy plane tickets.

Why It Hits: For years, Google has been the go-to portal for people’s travel logistics. TikTok taking away market share in the category could be further proof of how the tech giant is losing cultural cache to the social media app.

Between the Lines: Danielle Johnson, TikTok’s director of travel, tech, and telco, said the platform is turning into a travel “discovery engine.”

• TikTok reports that 83% of users find travel destinations they hadn’t considered before on the app, with 60% following through on actually visiting them.

• 67% of TikTok users purposely search for travel experiences on the platform, which ensures that their For You page keeps recommending more travel content. If you search for the best pasta stops in Tuscany, prepare to get served a lot of pasta videos.

• Interestingly, while Gen Z is creating the most travel content, users over 45 are the ones watching the most content. It’s cross-generational.

The Future: Why the shift to TikTok? It’s not only because travel brands are able to share content and interact with users, but also because users then make their own content around destinations that drive traffic to those brands. No wonder Southwest Airlines made the app the centerpiece of a new ad campaign and launched a ticketing portal on the platform. Call it the destination-discovery-to-ticket-purchase pipeline.

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DEEP DIVES

• Watch: Actor and filmmaker Kevin Costner shares with Deadline the epic films that laid the foundation for his risky bet on the four-part Horizon saga that he partly self-financed.

• Read: Complex interviews multi-hyphenate artist Anderson .Paak on how collaborations across music, film, and branding are all coming to completion simultaneously.

• Listen: WSJ discusses how OpenAI already has a tool to catch students who use ChatGPT to cheat on assignments… but is reluctant to release it.

69.8% of you voted Yes in yesterday’s poll: Did you tune into the debate?

“Of course.”

“Harris is clearly the winner of the debate and the best candidate for the job. Calm, rational, smart, and has policies that will help uplift our nation. She wiped the floor with DT.”

“Harris gave no details about anything. How can you vote for someone you don’t know what they’re about besides ‘hate Trump’?”

“I wish they would actually answer the questions they were asked.”

Let’s keep the conversation going. Join our Poll Of The Day newsletter so your opinions can shine. Discover how your views line up with your peers’, check out cool insights, and have some fun. It’s data with personality.

QUICK HITS

→ Entertainment / Media

🎧 Big paydays in podcasting are back, thanks to huge deals for shows from Joe Rogan, Alex Cooper, and the Kelce brothers. It’s all about the mainstream hits.

🎤 KidSuper returned to New York Fashion Week with a novel show that mixed fashion with stand-up comedy and featured talent like Marlon Wayans and Deon Cole.

📱 MTV’s Video Music Awards gave viewers the ability to vote for their favorite artist this year through WhatsApp.

→ Fashion / E-commerce

👟 Dior shoe designer Thibo Denis is bringing his talents to Louis Vuitton.

👕 Zara’s “Pre-Owned” platform for secondhand clothes is coming to the US next month.

👜 An antitrust trial that may block the merger between Tapestry and Capri hilariously became a handbag fashion show.

→ Technology

🔋 A California utilities boss credits batteries for keeping the lights on in the state amid a record heat wave.

🛰️ T-Mobile successfully tested its first emergency alert sent over a Starlink satellite to cell phones.

✅ Apple is rolling out a feature called “win-back” offers that lets developers ping old customers to try to get them to renew subscriptions.