Rampage sponsored by Reebok; UFC won't allow him to wear their products

[markg171]

because they are trying to suck up to nike?

Could also be the fact that Rampage is presumably leaving the UFC after this fight. Rampage looks great on a Reebok poster in a store, but if he's no longer a UFC fighter at the time those posters go up, it's not good for their business to be promoting Reebok and Rampage together

But yeah, the Nike thing is probably pretty valid too. They really want more Nike endorsements

 

[Mikeyz]

Ariel Helwani ‏@arielhelwani
"Rampage says he's sponsored by Reebok now, but the UFC isn't allowing him to wear Reebok in the cage next Saturday night."

I don't see why not

 

[Unbreakabull]

Why do the UFC meddle in a fighter's affair such as sponsorship?

Would you allow NAMBLA to sponsor someone? Ok, so meddling is an inevitable conclusion, if there is one sponsor you would disagree with


Maybe Rampage is a liar - That's what I would like to think

 

[justblaze717]

Wow thats crazy. The UFC is run too much like a "league" to not have a union.

 

[Max Power]

Reebok and Nike are for chavs.

 

[Mikedh]

They don't allow deals that conflict with their sponsors, that isn't anything new in MMA. In Bellator, you can't have a gear sponsor because of their deal with Everlast. I don't think guys in the UFC can have energy drinks other than Xyience or whatever.

My question is; what sponsor does this conflict with? Seems petty otherwise.

 

[markg171]

I guess, but I thought the Nike sponsorships benefit the fighters and not actually the UFC itself.

Having fighters sponsored by Nike adds legitimacy to the UFC as a lot of the major athletes in other sports are signed to Nike

 

[sackride]

Sponsors have to first pay the ufc like 75k to then be able to sponsor fighters and put their logo on them for the fight.

They can sponsor Rampage outside the UFC all they want

sponsoring him outside the ufc is quite intriguing. maybe he'll be flaunting the 'bok all over tna & we'll finally get that king mo scrap.

(i type this w/out a hint of sarcasm)

 

[TASTEofmySCYTHE]

Having fighters sponsored by Nike adds legitimacy to the UFC as a lot of the major athletes are signed to Nike

Agreed, but it's not like Reebok isn't super legit as well.

 

[justblaze717]

because they are trying to suck up to nike?

Weren't Machida and Houston Alexander sponsored by Lugz?

and Bones with KSwiss

 

[LATEXXX COMMANDO]

That sucks

 

[Ronnie Dunavin]

They would have let Chuck wear Polos and Birkenstocks to cage if he were sponsored by them.

 

[Lincoln Hawk]

they also don't allow fighters to thank a laundry list of sponsors after winning. Did Rampage not know this when he signed his contract with the UFC or his sponsorship deal with Reebok?

 

[Rex Kwon Do]

they also don't allow fighters to thank a laundry list of sponsors after winning. Did Rampage not know this when he signed his contract with the UFC or his sponsorship deal with Reebok?

Yeah, they don't let them ramble out a list of sponsors, but they seem to be OK with letting them immediately put on a t-shirt and a hat advertising their sponsors. To say nothing of fighters' shorts, and the octagon itself, which has less ad-free space on it now than ever. If they are indeed singling out Reebok and saying Rampage cannot wear their products, it has nothing to do with not being allowed to speak about your sponsors after a fight, which is what you were mentioning.

 

[Guld**]

Surprised people haven't flipped this yet and said rampage is just crying.

I think it's to be assumed as long as Rampage draws breath.

 

[MolesyMMA]

King Mo vs Rampage on a BFC PPV, i can see it now.

 

[chanwahyaoh]

This is the UFC's idea of sucking up to Nike apparently

 

[Free_MMAson]

The UFC has balked on this issue before. If Rampage presses it, the UFC will re-balk on this issue.

 

[MMA Maine-iac]

So what happens if Rampage shows up on fight night decked out in Reebok gear? Would the UFC say take it off or don't fight? Serious question.

 

[Strychnine]

Money out of a fighter's pocket.

Yet you'll have droves of lemmings praising the UFC for this.