Just days before the biggest UFC event ever in Australia, UFC® 243: WHITTAKER vs. ADESANYA, UFC partnered with nonprofit organization Eat Up Australia for a hunger relief challenge to prepare more than 2,000 lunches for disadvantaged children throughout Melbourne.
Joined by local UFC athletes Tyson Pedro, Jimmy Crute, and Kai Kara – France, Eat Up Australia and their charitable partner Swisse Wellness participated alongside 50 volunteers in a fun way to help the community. The red and blue team competed head to head in a race to see which team can make 1,000 sandwiches first. The event took on additional meaning for the athletes because both Pedro and Crute are from Australia, while Kara – France hails from New Zealand.
“We are so thankful to UFC, who made a very generous $5,000 (US) donation. It is huge for us and allows us to provide more resources to help more kids,” said Eat Up Australia Founder Lyndon Galea. “It is also exciting to see local UFC athletes come out and participate in the event. We couldn’t be more thankful for a global sports organization like UFC to partner with us to help us fight hunger. This was a really special day.”
“Today was a great opportunity to give back to the local community here in Melbourne,” said Pedro. “Being in UFC is cool. I get to do what I love by fighting and giving back to the community at great events like this. It’s great to be a part of it.”
Eat Up Australia is doing its part to help the 1 in 8 Australian students who arrive at school hungry each day. Since its inception in 2013, Eat Up Australia has delivered more than 750,000 lunches to students at over 550 schools throughout Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland.
This is UFC’s second time partnering with Eat Up Australia. The first time was in 2016, when the organizations teamed up to prepare over 500 lunches for needy children. UFC prides itself in working with local partners and charities to give back to the communities that host UFC events during Fight Week.
