Samtliga fighters i UFC är sponsrade utav Reebok, något som en hel del kämpar i organisationen haft en del att säga om.Senast ut var ingen mindre än Fabricio Werdum som postade följande bild på instagram, och enligt honom är det ingenting som organisationen kan straffa honom för. Detta hade han att säga, via ”MMAFighting”:
I was protesting. Actually, I’m not forced to use Reebok. I don’t have a contract with them. For people that don’t know, Reebok sponsors, well, sponsors, only during the fight and in the fight week you have to wear it [Reebok gear], it’s in the contract. In reality, I don’t have a deal with them to post outside the UFC. I can post whatever I want, if I want to post Kings MMA, I’ll post. If I want to post Nike or any other company or the sponsors I have, anything, so I’m not obligated.
For people saying I’d get in trouble, there will be no trouble. It was just a protest, something that before we could show any sponsor we wanted. We used to get real good money, it was a lot different from Reebok. Today, with Reebok there is a pay scale, if you have a certain number of fights you get $5.000, $8.000. Of course it’s good money, but nothing like it was before, so of course it was a protest.
I think fighters need to start speaking because no one is happy. It’s something that is in our contract, we have to sign it and end of story. We don’t have options. It was nice because it [the photo] was featured even in Globo.com. People talking, ’Werdum signed with Nike’, no, but if Nike is interested, we’re here.
So just to clarify, the people thinking I will get in trouble, nothing will happen. I even tell the fighters, if some company won’t sponsor you, you have to cover up their names, gloves, shin guards, don’t make free promotion. That’s our job, our image, our fights. Just because someone sends you some gloves you don’t need to keep making several posts with them. That’s not how it works, you have to value your image.
