I am a fan of MMA and we all love the individuality in this sport especially whenever a great fighter becomes our inspiration to train and work harder in the gym. I love it when my pulse rate would jump up as my favorite fighter walks into the arena with his entourage, cool entrance music plus matching sponsor shirts. But those days are gone, well, for their outfits at least. Where is the individuality UFC?
I own a cool affliction and bad boy t-shirt, and the only reason why I bought it was because of my favorite fighter, Alex Gustafsson. That confidence boost I got when I am wearing the shirt is worth every dollar I spent on it. But now, The Mauler looks like a toned down girlie version of his previous self whenever he’s seen wearing the new UFC fight gear. Where are my skulls and flame designs?
There have been a lot of twitter comments going around from the fighters themselves what they think about this recent change. In a nutshell, they are saying boooo! I can’t blame them. I really can’t.
A veteran cutman was ironically “cut” off the UFC when he spoke against the deal. Even non fighters lost a chunk of the pie when this deal happened. Sponsorship plays a big part in paying the bills of people in this game as with any other sport. Unless of course, your name is Floyd Mayweather who is known to have no sponsorship deals with any brand. We definitely miss you Stitch! Reebok states however that they had no input on the UFC decisions on employment. They say that their focus is with the fighters and fans.
Yeah right.
So here’s what our UFC fighters are saying about this deal. Below are some of my favorites;
No offense but if anyone pays $95 for a shirt with my name on the back you’re an idiot.
Oh God, #UFC and #Reebok want $95 for a shirt. So much gouging of fans, yet still don’t pay fighters squat. pic.twitter.com/XwgGWsyYj7
— Jonathan Snowden (@JESnowden) June 30, 2015
UFC says that the Reebok deal it is an investment that it is making for the future of the sport and its fighters. The big pro they are selling is that it is guaranteed that after a fight, a UFC fighter will get his money in his account after 10 days. This eliminates the common hassle of chasing your sponsors for the agreed money.
In the end, the fighters get less with the Reebok deal because they lost the ability to string together sponsors for a higher payout. But for now and the near future, I don’t plan on adding a Reebok shirt to my collection.
