The UFC's Official Instagram Account Has Been Hacked

Originally posted on The Spun | By Tzvi Machlin | Last updated Jan 30, 2025 11:23 AM ET

It seems that every week there's some celebrity or major business that's getting their social media accounts hacked, whether it's by scams or simple trolls.

The latest victim of hacking is the Ultimate Fighting Championship's Instagram account, which appears to have been overtaken as part of a crypto coin scam.

Early this morning, multiple MMA fans noticed that a new post from UFC advertising a cryptocurrency and had an entire code pasted under both the UFC logo and the text of the post.

"UFC fans have been waiting, and the moment is here. Get ready to own the legacy. Precision. Strength. All in one coin," the post said before pasting the link. The UFC Instagram Story also briefly featured a website where the coin could be purchased.

The post managed to stay up on the UFC's page for about an hour before the company managed to regain control.

Thankfully, the hacker didn't purge any of the content . The UFC Instagram account has over 39,000 photos and videos, many of which have been up there for years and years, potentially making it the only place on the internet where they can be found and celebrated.

Sadly, cryptocurrency scams and hacks are likely to remain the norm for a while. MMA Junkie noted that Americans lost over $5 billion in cryptocurrency scams in the year 2023 alone. The data on 2024 isn't currently out but it wouldn't be a shock if the number was roughly the same if not much more.

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 13: UFC President Dana White conducts a post game press conference after the UFC 236 event at State Farm Arena on April 13, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images)

The UFC is as popular as ever, frequently taking its product overseas for big money events in between its traditional event locations here in the United States.

This weekend the MMA promotion will be in Riyadh, Saudi Arabi for UFC Fight Night in a battle between former UFC Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and surging contender Nassourdine Imavov.

Let's hope the UFC can stay hacker-free through at least the end of the weekend. But a bigger investment in social media security couldn't hurt.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: