Jose Aldo took the UFC’s partnership with Reebok down and handed it an unrelenting ground and pound assault in a recent interview with Combate.
The long-standing featherweight champ has become the latest fighter to speak out against the controversial sponsorship deal the UFC signed with Reebok. He didn’t hold back the punches with his criticism either.
“First of all. It’s shit. Everybody has been talking about it. We, athletes, are losing a lot. They said we would be like NBA or NFL athlete, but that doesn’t apply, because we are not paid monthly like they are.”
“It doesn’t matter how much we will be paid, all athletes who had sponsors are losing money. That’s a huge setback for us. We live for each fight, we have to keep fighting and nobody fights more than three times a year. Not a champion, anyway.”
Under the terms of the new deal, fighters are prohibited from wearing non-Reebok apparel at UFC events, including weigh-ins, open workouts and during the fights themselves.
In return, each fighter on the roster will get a percentage of the sponsorship revenue after every fight based on how many bouts they’ve amassed under Zuffa promotions.
Many fighters have hit out against the new arrangement with Reebok, claiming they will be earning a lot less sponsorship revenue under the new deal than they were from the previous sponsors.
Aldo reckons it never would have been signed if there was an MMA fighter union, especially considering the fighters were apparently left in the dark about the details of the deal until after it was signed.
“If we had a union for fighters, and we were all together, like in the NBA, this would’ve been different. But fighters are not united. Today I have a price the event is willing to pay to have me, but there are other fighters out there willing to fight for spare change if I don’t want to, and that is not even their fault.”
“The UFC brought the sport to where it is today, great, that’s their merit. But if athletes were more united and had a union to protect them, I don’t think this would happen.”
— Tim Sylvia (@timsylviamma) May 28, 2015
Aldo added that as he is the 145 lb champion, the new sponsorship deal won’t really hit his wallet hard. However, he feels that it will have a rough effect on fighters who are just starting off their UFC careers.
“When I speak about this, I don’t speak for myself. If I say this might be good for Aldo, yeah, sure it can, I would make good money, I could say that.”
“It gets really bad for up and comers or guys who are trying to reach the top. I’m not talking about me, I’m all right, I’m the champion and I have a high price. Aldo hasn’t become the champion now, he has been the champion for years. But for the beginners, it’s really bad.”
UFC president Dana White has been sticking to his guns amidst all the backlash. In a recent interview with LA radio station Power 106, White responded to all the Reebok hate.
“I don’t know, man. These guys don’t get it. These guys are short-sighted sometimes. It’s good for the industry. It’s good for everybody. You want to have a deal like this.”
It will be interesting to see if White has any words for Aldo, following his harsh criticism of the deal.
Hat-tip to Combate
