I love these posts by people who are trying to lay the blame on the Reebok deal. Sure it has something to do with it, but not as much as people think, as the show/win money from the UFC, along with the bonus potential, blows the sponsorship money from other orgs out the window (Also fighters always neglect to mention that the big $$$ sponsorship deals also include lots of out of the ring activities. They'll get $10,000 from a sponsor, but that also means they have to give up 5-10 days to go to signing and do photoshoots and what not)
Benson went to Bellator because he was in a no-mans land. He would be a gate keeper at 155 and a year + out of title contention, if he can even make weight at 155 anymore. And at 170 he'd have a hard time hanging with guys who are much bigger than him. He'll never out wrestle the Condits, Lawlers and Hendricks', and there's a good chance all three KO him.
Benson needed a fresh start where he could be king of the hill, and in Bellator that's not very hard for a great fighter like Benson to do. Bellator does have great up and coming fighters and many exciting fighters, but lets face it, none are even close to being on the level of Benson.
If a fighter leaves/refuses the UFC because of the Reebok deal it says more about the fighter than the sponsorship. It tell you that fighter knows he has no chance at being the best, he doesn't have confidence in himself and isn't cut out for the big time. Because whats better, fighting in Bellator for $50K and $50K sponsorship (if you're the best as their low level fighters get $1K and sometimes come out with 1 or 2 sponsors) or trying your luck in the UFC where a championship fight could net you millions.
I think David Branch will be a key figure in deciding what is going on with sponsorship money versus UFC's Win +weak Reebok money. He basically said he wants out of WSOF, saying he'll go where the money is and it's business, so if he goes to the UFC we know that lies of $40K sponsorships are just that, complete BS.
