Bellator’s recent big-name acquisitions from the UFC may be down to the controversial Reebok uniform deal, according to Scott Coker.
2015’s promotion-wide apparel deal with the British manufacturer Reebok was one of the most controversial talking points in UFC history.
Fighters were required to follow the mandate passed down from the UFC top brass, which effectively lost sponsorship deals and te ability to represent alternative brands in the octagon. Aside from the meagre pay athletes receive for wearing the much-maligned kits, the aesthetic and identity of a fighter’s appearance has also been compromised in favor from a spectators point of view. To say the deal has not been popular in some part would be a lie, however…
If one was to ask Scott Coker how he feels about the Reebok deal, the Bellator President would give you a contrary opinion. The apparel deal has, after all, given the UFC rival a pretty attractive bargaining chip to toss at UFC fighters they could potentially acquire from Dana White and co’s clutches:
“I think [the Reebok deal] been very good for our business, honestly,” Scott Coker told Luke Thomas at Tuesday’s Bellator 180 press conference. “Fighters want the freedom to get their own sponsors. They just want the freedom, and they don’t like … this is the deal, I know fighters, big name fighters, that say ‘Hey, I had million dollar sponsors. Now I have 40,000 every time I fight or 20,000 every time I fight.’ All that sponsorship went away. And these are big names over there.”
“I think people want a certain amount of freedom, and that’s what we give. We give them the freedom to get your own sponsorships. You won’t be stopped from getting somebody that you feel fits you as a person, as a personality, and I think that’s the way it should be.”
And there you have it, a fan of the Reebok deal…
