Las Vegas Aces star Kelsey Plum showcases UFC-inspired Under Armour shoes

On June 29, Kelsey Plum and her Las Vegas Aces squad picked up an 88-77 victory over the Washington Mystics, improving their regular season record to 10-6 thus far. Also on the 29th, UFC took over their usual home of Las Vegas with their annual Summer showcase, International Fight Week. 

Closing out the week-long festivities was the UFC 303 PPV from T-Mobile Arena, which was originally scheduled to be headlined by the return of Conor McGregor against Michael Chandler. The injury bug plagued the card, ultimately leading to an impromptu Light Heavyweight title rematch between Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka. Further changes would be made when on the day of the event, scheduled co-main event competitor Brian Ortega would be forced out of his bout with Diego Lopes, due to illness. For the first time in UFC history, a fighter (not scheduled on the original card) would step in on mere hours' notice, as Dan Ige fought Lopes in a last-minute 165 catchweight collision.

Aside from being one of the WNBA’s elite veterans, Kelsey Plum is also quite the MMA savant, holding a close friendship with UFC President and CEO Dana White. In addition, her WNBA stardom has earned her some pretty lucrative endorsement deals, including a deal with Nike in 2017 following her number-one overall entry into the WNBA. In 2022, however, Plum would take her talents to the Under Armour brand, joining a roster that includes NBA superstars Steph Curry and Joel Embiid. 

The UFC also holds a special deal with Under Armour as their Project Rock (by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) collection is the official sneaker and slide provided to fighters and their cornermen. 

Plum would wear a special-edition set of PE (Player-exclusive) UA Breakthru 5’s in a red and black motif reminiscent of the UFC’s trademark colors. The soles are made up Under Armour’s Flow technology, which defers from traditional rubber outsoles for a lightweight alternative result that remains high-performance, while still maintaining grip, stability, and durability.

On the heel of these UFC-themed UA Breakthru 5’s is a cage pattern in a nod to the Octagon structure where UFC fighters throw down, as well as the UFC logo on the heel tab. To make things more UFC-coded, Plum explained the materials used to make the sneakers: “It's like the leather for actual gloves and stuff.”

Kelsey Plum's UFC-inspired player-exclusive UA Breakthru 5 model does the Octagon justice.

As talented as Kelsey Plum is, don’t expect her to be a multi-sport dynamo, as she reiterated in an Instagram video post shared by Under Armour Basketball: “… I will never be in the cage. I promise you that."