Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) has announced that it will serve as the official hospital of UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship).
“We are excited to partner with a world-class medical provider of HSS’ caliber,” UFC Chief Operating Officer Ike Lawrence Epstein said in the May 22, 2017 news release. “The health and safety of UFC athletes is our top priority, and this partnership further extends the best-in-class services available to the athletes both in and out of the Octagon.”
“HSS’ purpose is to help people get back to what they need and love to do, better than any other place in the world,” said Louis A. Shapiro, HSS President and Chief Executive. “We are privileged to now support UFC as we do other high performing athletic organizations including the Brooklyn Nets, New York Giants, New York Knicks, New York Mets, New York Red Bulls, New York Road Runners and many others.”
According to the news release, “Bryan Kelly, M.D., Chief of the Sports Medicine Service at HSS, will serve as UFC’s Head Consulting Orthopedic Surgeon. He will lead a team of HSS orthopedic surgeons who will be on-call during UFC events for orthopedic consultation. HSS will also assist UFC in the recruitment and placement of physical therapists who will be onsite at the HSS Sports Rehabilitation Center at the UFC Performance Institute. As the world’s first mixed martial arts multi-disciplinary research, innovation and performance center, the Performance Institute is a state-of-the-art 30,000 square-foot facility which provides benefits and services to all athletes competing under the UFC banner.”
“As the organization’s official hospital, HSS will receive branding on UFC’s world-famous Octagon at select events, as well as digital and social advertising, and participating in UFC-based corporate social responsibility programs.”
Emil Calcano, assistant vice president, Global Sports Marketing and Business Development at HSS, told OTW, “HSS has a long history of treating high performing athletes locally, nationally and globally. It was a natural fit to align ourselves with UFC, a premium global sports brand.”
“We are excited to now support HSS as the official hospital of the UFC by providing the organization with a full team of dedicated orthopedic consulting staff to be on call for all UFC events. Additionally, we will be assisting UFC in the recruitment and placement of physical therapists onsite at the HSS Sports Rehabilitation Center at the new UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas to ensure top notch physical therapy resources right on site for all UFC athletes.”
Asked how the relationship might evolve over the next couple of years, he noted, “We look forward to strengthening this new relationship with UFC over the next few years by expanding our medical coverage at the UFC headquarters in Las Vegas and beyond.”
