See Animated Take on Epic UFC 200 Fight Between Daniel Cormier, Jon Jones
After UFC President Dana White became obsessed with watching everything on Adult Swim, he knew he wanted to extend the mixed martial arts fighting brand in some way with the off-beat sensibility of the animated cable network. So White worked with voice actors Mike Judge and John Kricfalusi on the project, as well as their illustrators, to create a one-minute spot that previews UFC 200, the epic fight planned between Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones that takes place in Las Vegas on July 9th.
“I wanted a presence on Adult Swim, and I wanted to come in with a bang – to do something that’s never been done,” White tells Rolling Stone. “The time and energy and money and thought that went into this thing that’s going to play for 60 seconds has been a long time in the making. Thank god Adult Swim is so cool, and they’re into doing funky, creative stuff.”
The animated clip depicts versions of Hank Hill from the King of the Hill and George Liquor, who is most famous from appearances on The Ren & Stimpy Show. The two are sitting on a bench, drinking beers as they discuss the fight. Jones is shown getting ready for the match by lifting weights, while Cormier is packing on pounds by eating lots of cake.
White says he had to call in a couple of favors from Fox to have the rights for Hank Hill, while Kricfalusi was able to secure the George Liquor rights, since he created the character. They had to jump through “a lot of hoops and spend a lot of money,” according to White, but he says he wanted to appeal to the hardcore “Comic-Con crowd.”
You can expect more UFC animation to come: Both Judge and Kricfalusi are in the process of creating new characters for future, similar spots.