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Saturday, January 19, 2008

HARLEY-DAVIDSON SPONSORS ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP®

Courtesy of the Ultimate Fighting Championship:

Harley-Davidson is Presenting Sponsor of UFC® and WEC™ Events

MILWAUKEE (January 19, 2008) - Harley-Davidson Motor Company has teamed up with the Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) and World Extreme Cagefighting® (WEC™) organizations as a presenting sponsor and exclusive motorcycle sponsor.

“This is the first major worldwide sports sponsorship for Harley-Davidson outside the motorcycle/automotive category,” said Harley-Davidson Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Mark-Hans Richer. “We see our brand embodied in these fighters: young, aggressive, hard working individuals who cut against the grain.”

“Like Harley-Davidson, UFC is a true American passion that transcends cultures and languages, and shares incredible and growing popularity in the United States, Europe and around the world. Harley-Davidson is a powerhouse brand, we are proud to call it our exclusive UFC and WEC motorcycle sponsor and to have the historic Harley-Davidson Bar & Shield in the Octagon,” said UFC President Dana White.

Harley-Davidson’s sponsorship began with the UFC 79: NEMESIS event December 29, 2007 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, as witnessed
by a sell-out audience of more than 11,000 and millions more on television around the world.

Harley-Davidson sponsorship of the UFC and WEC events includes its historic Bar & Shield logo placement in the center spot on the Octagon™ canvas, as a press conference and weigh-in backdrop and in other event locations. In addition, Harley-Davidson motorcycles and advertisements will appear at other UFC and WEC events and locations. The Company is also encouraging its independent dealers to hold UFC “fight night” events and customer parties in conjunction with a limited number of appropriate UFC events.

The first such dealer events begin with UFC 80: RAPID FIRE, held today in Newcastle, England, which will be broadcast live at noon Pacific Time (3 p.m. ET) as “The Prodigy” BJ Penn faces Joe “Daddy” Stevenson for the UFC World Lightweight Championship.