E. Silva (photo) is coming off two victories and has a fight scheduled for June. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC
The exclusive contract for the supply of sports equipment between UFC and Reebok has not even entered into force and is already the central point of a huge discussion, which divides opinions between athletes, promoters and businesspeople. The most recent name to speak out on the controversial topic was the Brazilian welterweight Erick silva. In the UFC since 2011 and heading into his 11th fight in the organization, the man from Espírito Santo commented on the changes in the scenario for athletes with the new sponsorship agreement and revealed that he will lose thousands of reais per month thanks to the new model.
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“UFC changed the way we pay a little with this partnership with Reebok. My manager and I already sat down, did the math and saw that we are going to lose a lot with this new UFC contract. We will end up losing around R$40 per month. This new Reebok plan is difficult for those who have a lot of sponsorship, because it will restrict a lot, and sponsors don't want to pay an amount that they would pay without being exposed in a fight, which is where the athlete gives them the biggest return”, he said. the fighter, in an interview with “TV Gazeta”.
Erick, who will fight Rick Story on June 27th in the last fight of his current contract, already has in mind to minimize losses: impressing in the duel scheduled for TUF Brasil 4 Finale in order to reach a good agreement on his renewal with Ultimate. “My manager and I are already talking to Joe Silva so we can find a way to recover this, to not lose out. It's my last fight of the contract, I know that I have to do a very good fight, a very hard-hitting fight, precisely for that, so that when my contract is renewed we can recover, on the one hand, all the money that we are losing due to another”, he concluded.
Even without the approval of many athletes, the exclusive agreement between UFC and Reebok comes into force next July, and their debut in the octagon is scheduled for UFC 189 – which will be headlined by the featherweight belt fight between José Aldo e Conor McGregor. From then on, fighters are prohibited from displaying personal markings on their uniforms during fights and also during fight week official calendar events. To do this, each of them will receive a portion of the millionaire agreement with the sports equipment brand, in an amount corresponding to the number of fights they have under contract with Zuffa.
At 30, Erick silva He has a professional record of 18 wins, five losses and one unsuccessful fight. After alternating victories and defeats since his debut in the octagon, Erick put together a streak of two consecutive victories, both by submission, over Mike Rhodes and Josh koscheck.
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