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Lawsuits, Fighter Pay, and Drug Tests: Tibau Fails Post Fight Drug Test In Addition to OoC Test


Elsalvajeloco

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A year ago when rumblings of fighter uniforms started to come to light I had a stronger opinion on this but now it's like who cares either way.  The fighters will still be able to decide which type of shorts and which colors they wear during the fights.   Who really cares if it says UFC & Reebok across their butts instead of 15 little ads for Gatorade, Mike's Tire Barn, Condom Depot or whatever.  When fights are taking place I couldn't care less if they have a banner behind them when Bruce Buffer is introducing them or what hat or TV shirt they wear during their post fight interview.  If they're still getting compensated equal and sometimes better then equal to what they are now without having to spend their free time begging a bunch of different companies to give them money for their training camps then that can only improve the quality of the fights.

 

I can only imagine how hard its for some of the fighters competing on the Fight Pass prelim card to scrounge up sponsorship money when the event isn't even airing on TV in their home country.

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A few things that probably will get ironed out/some initial thoughts:

 

- I don't know how I feel about media members determining fighter pay indirectly. I had a feeling they were going to structured it this way when they were discussing a deal with Under Armour. However, I was thinking something along the lines of champions, title challengers, and where fighters appeared on televised cards. My idea isn't that different from what they are doing (outside of random top female strawweights on Fight Pass), but it would definitely affect someone like Faber fighting as a PPV prelim headliner.

 

- Are the 50 people that got called beforehand going to get some type of individual sponsorship thing? This seems like good and bad news for someone like Johny Hendricks. He has a deal with them already and now can freely wear his gear in the octagon. However, his deal with Reebok is no longer special (or won't be by the time mid July rolls around) for his individual brand (not that UFC gives a shit about that). Will his money be the same or go up somehow?

 

- Will some of the perennial brands start disappearing from the UFC and MMA all together before July? I see Venum and Hayabusa getting fucked bad on this deal. A few of these companies only stay alive based on their presence and exposure in the UFC. They were sponsoring every other fighter at every UFC show. So I don't expect them to keep deals with fighters that can't wear their product in the cage. They didn't have the pressure of some of these MMA clothing companies that sponsor a main eventer (and then end up not paying them). Moreover, it's not like sponsoring a Bellator prelim guy means the same as sponsoring say...Paige VanZant.

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- Will some of the perennial brands start disappearing from the UFC and MMA all together before July? I see Venum and Hayabusa getting fucked bad on this deal. A few of these companies only stay alive based on their presence and exposure in the UFC. They were sponsoring every other fighter at every UFC show. So I don't expect them to keep deals with fighters that can't wear their product in the cage. They didn't have the pressure of some of these MMA clothing companies that sponsor a main eventer (and then end up not paying them). Moreover, it's not like sponsoring a Bellator prelim guy means the same as sponsoring say...Paige VanZant.

 

Yeah, this is going to absolutely murder most brands.  The Affliction and Tapout era has long since waned, so interest was alreay at an all-time low (in the modern Zuffa era).  Removing sponsors from TV will pretty much be the nail in the coffin for most of them.

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Jeremy Botter @jeremybotter 2m

I’ve been told champions have the ability to negotiate their own Reebok deals. Everybody else is paid by tier.

 

 

Jeremy Botter @jeremybotter 8m8 minutes ago

Also, a deal is in the works with Monster Energy. It’s far enough along that Bellator has been told Monster won’t be renewing with them.

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So the UFC lands a sponsorship deal with one of the most bland, uninteresting brands out there and possibly ever.

Puma?Heck no. Puma has some quality looking stuff.

This, however, is beyond hideous and nothing even comes close:

zigtech-reebok-5.jpg

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Am I the only one here who remembers boxers being sponsored by Puma, Rocawear, Phat Farm, Sean John, DaDa, and FUBU like 10-15 years ago? I think Roy (and I think Floyd when he fought Sharmba Mitchell in 05 in Portland) had a Jordan brand deal. All those sponsorships dried up like a son-of-a-bitch by 07.

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Supposedly fighters can continue to get money from sales of their individual gear even after they retire.  But does their deal with Reebok continue even if they get cut?  If they go to another organization, does it become null and void?

 

For Epwar, do you have any other ideas for the pay tier other than rankings?  This is a prize-fighting sport, so the fighters who win more should arguably make more.  

This way, someone like Faber isn't getting a paycut for fighting on the prelims.  Same goes for someone like Benavidez, who is the legit No. 2 guy in the world at flyweight.  

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The one I thing I forgot to bring up is the non-apparel sponsorships. At first, I assume they would be allowed to keep them but just a limited number. However, it does not seem like that's happened based on the FAQ. I remember sprewellrimz telling me that Cain made a shitload (mid six figures) from Milwaukee Tools (this was just before the first JDS fight). I don't think many of the current UFC fighters have deals like that in place, but I can't imagine those select few just relenting on that. Savage and Breen brought it up on Cheap Seats w/ someone like Lesnar (probably better current examples but w/e). Jack Link's might not be paying him a ton, but it's money that can actually supplement his income steadily when he isn't wresting/fighting.

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The one I thing I forgot to bring up is the non-apparel sponsorships. At first, I assume they would be allowed to keep them but just a limited number. However, it does not seem like that's happened based on the FAQ. I remember sprewellrimz telling me that Cain made a shitload (mid six figures) from Milwaukee Tools (this was just before the first JDS fight). I don't think many of the current UFC fighters have deals like that in place, but I can't imagine those select few just relenting on that. Savage and Breen brought it up on Cheap Seats w/ someone like Lesnar (probably better current examples but w/e). Jack Link's might not be paying him a ton, but it's money that can actually supplement his income steadily when he isn't wresting/fighting.

 

Frankie Edgar was asked about this.  He said he's built personal relationship with his sponsors and he says there isn't really much value in putting a logo or patch on your shorts.  He said the real value is in repping the brand online or doing signings and appearances for the brand.  He said he wasn't too worried about losing sponsorships because he can't wear the logo to the cage anymore.  

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For Epwar, do you have any other ideas for the pay tier other than rankings?  This is a prize-fighting sport, so the fighters who win more should arguably make more.  

 

I agree and that already happens with UFC pay.  Ronda Rousey already makes fifty times what Sarah Kaufman makes, so why reinforce it more?  With the Reebok uniforms, everyone is wearing variants of the same thing so they should be paid equally. Now if their signature shirts end up taking off, that is a whole different ballgame.

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For Epwar, do you have any other ideas for the pay tier other than rankings?  This is a prize-fighting sport, so the fighters who win more should arguably make more.  

 

I agree and that already happens with UFC pay.  Ronda Rousey already makes fifty times what Sarah Kaufman makes, so why reinforce it more?  With the Reebok uniforms, everyone is wearing variants of the same thing so they should be paid equally. Now if their signature shirts end up taking off, that is a whole different ballgame.

 

 

They could reinforce the fact Sarah Kaufman can be fighting only in Invicta. So there is that whole deal.

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It is just an insane system to me.  For example, a woman ranked no. 2 in the brand new strawweight division will make more than someone like Benson Henderson.  That is just weird and dumb.

 

No she wouldn't.  Henderson is ranked No. 5.  The tiers are 11-15, 6-10, and 1-5.  She would only conceivably make more if Henderson drops to a lower tier or if she sells more merchandise than him...which wouldn't be unfair.

 

Also, Henderson would be getting paid out more money overall by the UFC than the No. 2 woman at strawweight in the UFC.  

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