UFC Fighters Trade Gym for Kids' Wards During UFC 332 Fight Week

Fight week for UFC 332: Silva vs. Wang didn't just happen inside the Delta Center on October 3. Two days earlier, a handful of ranked fighters were making slime and getting beaten at board games by pediatric patients. UFC and the Utah Sports Commission teamed with Primary Children's Hospital and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Salt Lake for two community visits in the lead-up to the Salt Lake City card.

On September 30, flyweight contender Brandon Royval (18-9, ranked #3) and featherweight Youssef Zalal (18-6-1, ranked #8) spent the afternoon in the hospital playroom, handing out toys and taking photos with patients and their families. Both are among the more active submission threats in their divisions — Royval's 18 wins include 10 by tap, Zalal's the same — but they readily admitted the kids ran the table on game day.

Royval said the children were fighters in their own right, and that he and Zalal got thoroughly outplayed in everything they tried. He framed it as the whole point: give the kids a fun afternoon in the middle of everything they're dealing with. The pair also stopped by Ryan Seacrest Studios to run a hospital-wide Q&A for patients stuck in their rooms.

A Different Kind of Opponent

The next day, October 1, women's flyweight Tracy Cortez (12-4, ranked #9) and welterweight Uros Medic headed to the Spence Eccles Club for an after-school session that looked nothing like a training camp. Kickball, soccer, cornhole, arts and crafts, and — yes — karaoke. Pinkbox Doughnuts handled the catering, which is to say free doughnuts for students and staff.

Cortez, who dropped a decision to Wang Cong in her last outing, said giving back matters to her, and that reminding kids they can beat any obstacle is part of growing up. Coming from a fighter sitting on a 12-4 record built in one of the UFC's deeper weight classes, it's a message with some weight behind it.

Primary Children's Hospital, founded back in 1922, is a nonprofit facility treating kids with complex illnesses and injuries from across the country. The visits ran under UFC's #UFCInTheCommunity program, which pairs athletes and sponsors with local causes around fight weeks.

It's easy to file community appearances under box-ticking PR. This one reads a little differently — four fighters from different divisions, two venues, and a roster of brand partners actually showing up a few days before a stacked card. The fights get the headlines. The slime, apparently, gets the win.