The UFC’s Reebok uniform deal continues to evolve year by year. Signed back in 2015, fighters were consigned to wearing white on black or black on white outfits for their fights. In 2016 Reebok added a couple of basic colors into the mix including red, green, and yellow. And now in 2017 the clothing outfitter has announced ‘a holistic update to the official UFC athlete fight night apparel that brings a new aesthetic and style combined with an unprecedented standard of customization for title bout fighters, called the UFC Legacy series.’
Small changes have been made to the colors and design of the in-cage fight clothing, but the more important part of the deal involves custom walk out shirts for all fighters involved in PPV main events or championship bouts. That means fancy new shirts for every big event, starting with UFC 215. Take a look at the designs for Demetrious Johnson, Ray Borg, Amanda Nunes, and Valentina Shevchenko:
The Reebok deal has been wildly unpopular with UFC fighters because it coincided with a decision from the promotion to kill in-cage sponsorship. Where fighters were once allowed to fight with sponsors on their shorts and a banner hanging over the cage during introductions, now they get paid a fixed amount from Reebok based on the number of fights with the UFC. The numbers are not exactly impressive at $2500 for the first 5 fights and $5000 for fights 5 through 10. Up at the top end, the rare UFC fighter with 21+ fights gets $20k, fighters challenging for a title get $30k, and champs $40k.
Many fighters making 6-7 figures off sponsorship were reduced to 4 figures, and a revolt at the UFC Athlete Retreat earlier this summer led the promotion to promise a new financial incentive to make up the difference. We have to wonder if the new UFC Legacy shirts are that incentive: a product that fighters can push which they can make money off. As of now there’s no mention of UFC Legacy proceeds going into fighter pockets, but surely Reebok and the UFC wouldn’t start making custom fighter shirts just to pocket the majority of the money. Right? Right???
