Reebok and the UFC Announce 6-year Partnership


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ufc reebok partnerships

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) announced a 6-year partnership with Reebok. Reebok will become the exclusive outfitter and apparel provider for the UFC with the new policy beginning the week of July 6, 2015. The announcement was met with mixed reviews from the fans but the general consensus amongst the fighters was positive. The new deal provides UFC fighters with a guaranteed income for each of their fights and they’ll also have the opportunity to generate royalty income from their own athlete-specific products.

A promo from Reebok was shown at the press conference.

“This partnership is much more than a licensing agreement,” said Matt O’Toole, President, Reebok. “It is a true collaboration between two great brands, which will not only give UFC a new and exciting look, but will harness the global reach of both brands to also benefit young people around the world, particularly those at risk of being involved in crime and violence.”

Sorry fans but you won’t see CONDOM DEPOT or other random brands across the fighters’ shorts in the octagon. The fighters will no longer be permitted to have sponsor logos on their athletic apparel during the fight, the official UFC fight week events and in any UFC-produced content. There will no longer be banners inside the octagon behind the fighters. Some of which looked more like NASCAR than anything.

WATCH THE PRESS CONFERENCE HERE:
UFC Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Lorenzo Fertitta shared, “This will be the biggest non-broadcast partnership that our company has ever signed.”

Women’s UFC Bantamweight Champion, Ronda Rousey tells mmaFighting.com she has known about the partnership for awhile and helped them (Reebok) in the develop of the women’s line. In an interview after the press conference she shared, “Women’s clothing for MMA has never existed before so I’m excited to see what they come up with.” Rousey hasn’t had a major sports apparel sponsor and said, “It works out perfectly for me.” When asked if she has her own Reebok deal Rousey shied away from answering with a smile.

Reebok has found success by partnering with Crossfit, Les Mills and Spartan Race. Only time will tell how things unfold with their UFC deal but they are clearly invested in the sport for the long haul.

During the press conference and on the UFC’s twitter account we saw the hashtag #WhatDoYouFightFor. Reebok has posted this video on their Youtube channel which is the only thing that really addressed the hashtag to date.

Our training is mental battle, a community experience and a physical ass-kicking.
From MMA and Boxing to Kickboxing and Karate, our fights help us get fit – body, mind and soul.
This training is intense. This training is life-changing. This training has us inspired.
We are committed to improving human performance by building the best, most functional product for human movement.
This sport is no exception.
Youtube

Read more about the partnership here.

Information for this article via mmafighting and UFC.com.






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