DraftKings and the UFC have solved a problem I guess I really didn’t even know we had in MMA.

On Thursday, the UFC announced a lucrative new partnership with DraftKings worth $350 million to become the promotion’s first “official sportsbook and daily fantasy partner” in the U.S. and Canada. While that’s likely to be exciting news for MMA fans who enjoy a good live wager, it was a different part of the UFC press release that caught my attention.

DraftKings was also named the presenting partner of something called the UFC Fight Clock, billed as the UFC’s “innovative new time-keeping system.”

At first, I’ll admit, I chuckled. I mean, just how innovative can a clock be that is simply asked to count down five-minute segments over and over every Saturday night?

Here’s how the UFC describes it:

“DraftKings will also become the presenting partner of the UFC Fight Clock, UFC’s new, proprietary, and innovative time-keeping system. The UFC Fight Clock utilizes state-of-the-art technology, including the most flexible high-definition screens in the world, to provide fighters and fans with the most accurate time-keeping system in combat sports. The UFC Fight Clock is integrated directly into UFC’s production technology, allowing athletes, fans, and officials in the arena to see the same countdown clock per round as viewers watching the broadcast.”

OK, so I was still a little confused as to what all the fuss was about. “The most accurate time-keeping system in combat sports,” you say? I mean, my iPhone can run five-minute segments with pretty impressive accuracy. And when was the last time you heard a really strong debate about a fight’s result because it seemed clear that the clock was running a little too fast, and that a round only featured four minutes and 58 seconds of action?

But then I saw the photos of the technology in practice, and it actually seems pretty cool.

According to promotion officials, starting at Saturday’s UFC 259 event, “There will be up to four UFC Fight Clocks displayed on the UFC’s world-famous Octagon, giving fighters a view of at least one clock from any vantage point.”

To be clear, from DraftKings’ perspective, this looks like a way to keep their logo popping up over and over in backgrounds at UFC events, but it does come along with something that could prove beneficial for fighters, who in theory should now have easier visual access to round timers than peering up at the video boards overhead and looking for a very small clock tucked at the bottom of the screen.

So there you have it. Where else would you expect to get UFC corner clock news from other than your friends at The Blue Corner? Keep an eye out for them on the UFC 259 broadcast on Saturday. The main card streams on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.