UFC Exec on Reebok Partnership: We’ll Review Aspects, but Not Fighter Pay

The partnership between UFC and Reebok has been a controversial one to say the least. From the moment fighter compensation details emerged to the reveal of the fighter kits, both companies have received mixed reactions.

Even though fighters like Miesha Tate and Brendan Schaub have spoken out against the announced compensation, UFC Senior Vice President of Global Consumer Products Tracey Bleczinksi stated that many sponsors will be sticking with their fighters despite the Reebok partnership.

“Actually, what we have heard from a lot of fighters is that their sponsors are sticking with them and that they have renewed and extended their deals, which we fully expect sponsors to do and we encourage them to do that,” Bleczinksi told MMAJunkie.

“The important thing to bear in mind is that the value has three component parts and only one part is actual cash,” explained Bleczinksi. “The product and the marketing have a dollar value associated to them because they have to and thus are included when determining the total deal value. The vast majority of the cash revenue we receive is going directly to the athletes.”

“We have had great discussions with the fighters at the fighter information sessions. At the start of every session, we encouraged the athletes to ask questions, tell us what they think, with no topic being off limits. The conversations have been very robust and informative and have created some updates to the AOP.”

Bleczinksi explains that both parties are open to reviewing all aspects of the deal. All aspects except the fighter’s compensation, that is. “We will be reviewing all aspects of the program on an on-going basis, however the current compensation has been laid out for the term of the partnership.”

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