In September, Mousasi showed off the sponsorship that now gives him a headache. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC
A huge mess involving UFC fighters and one of the biggest suppliers of sporting equipment in the Octagon shook social media this Tuesday (09). It all started with a complaint published by the middleweight Gegard Mousasi, who accused the “Fear the Fighter” brand of not having made the payment related to the sponsorship of his last fights, and extended to other athletes who also echoed the accusations.
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“Hey Fear the Fighter, you guys rejected my last two fights and you still owe me money from my first fight. You owe it to me and other fighters. All UFC fighters: I encourage you to speak out about the sponsors who are stealing from you. We have to support each other”, published the fighter, who also made a direct appeal to the company owner, David Makdessi, the fighter’s brother John makdessi. “Your brother is a UFC fighter, but you are stealing from your co-workers. How embarrassing. Pay your debts!” he shot.
Mousasi's charge found support in welterweight Rick Story, who also shared his story. “I also add myself to the list. I didn’t get paid by Fear The Fighter for my last two fights,” wrote the Canadian. Patrick Cotê used irony and made a pun in his outburst. “Still waiting for my sponsorship money from my last fight in September. Patience will soon run out. Pay the fighters (“Pay the fighters”, in the original)”, he published.
This is not the first time that “Fear the Fighter” has been involved in controversy due to problems with sponsorship payments for UFC athletes. Last year, Akira Corassani and Eric Apple had publicly spoken out demanding unpaid amounts related to their contracts. At the time, the company defended itself by saying that the problem had been caused by the athletes' managers, who had delayed sending the payment notes.
To date, however, “Fear the Fighter” has not officially taken a position on Mousasi, Story and Cotê’s charges. Situations like this must have their days numbered in the UFC, as from July 6, 2015, the new contract between the organization and Reebok comes into force – which prohibits the display of other suppliers of sporting equipment in the Octagon and around At the same time, it guarantees fighters the transfer of part of the values of the agreement relating to their position in the official ranking.
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