J. Aldo was another important fighter to detonate the sports equipment agreement with Reebok. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC
Since the details of the exclusive sponsorship and supply of sports material contract between Reebok and UFC became public, the terms have been the target of several complaints from athletes at the main MMA event on the planet. Now, the criticism has been echoed by one of the main names in the event today: the Brazilian leader in the weight-for-pound ranking José Aldo. In an interview, the featherweight champion criticized the contract between Ultimate and the sporting goods brand, especially for preventing athletes from taking their personal sponsors' brands to the Octagon.
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“First of all, it’s s***. Everyone talked about it. We athletes lost a lot. As they said, it's like being a basketball athlete or an NFL athlete, it has nothing to do with it, we don't receive a monthly salary like NBA and NFL athletes do. It doesn't matter how much we win or not, all the athletes who had sponsorship lost or will lose, because they won't be able to participate in the fight. This is a loss for us. An athlete lives from each fight, we have to keep fighting, no athlete fights more than three times. The champion cannot fight more than three times a year. Even the amount they stipulated was not the amount we earned for our sponsorships, which were supporting us. I think this is good for them, for the UFC it is good, but for the athletes, no”, said the man from Manaus, on the website of the “Combate” channel.
According to Aldo, the agreement may benefit athletes who are just starting out in the organization, but it harms the vast majority of fighters under contract, especially those who hold a title. “I see that athletes lose a lot. For beginner fighters, yes, I don't think they need to run as much, but it's also not a lot of money, which will provide good financial support for them. I don't see it favorably. Since they spoke for the first time, I wanted to see the proposals, and when I saw them, I didn't find them interesting, especially for us champions”, he analyzed.
For Brazilians, the ideal solution would be the creation of a union to represent fighters, increasing unity between professional athletes and the Ultimate organization. “If we're going to say something, it doesn't just depend on me being champion, or Cain Velásquez, or any champion. If we had an athletes' union, and every athlete was united, just like in the NBA, this would be different. But, with the athletes disunited as it is... Today, I have a price, and the event can pay for me, but there are other athletes who, if I don't want to fight, will accept to fight at a bargain price. So, this is the athletes' disunity, it's not their fault. They are the ones who took the sport to where it is, great, they have their merits. But, if athletes were more united and had a union that protected them, I don’t think this would happen”, he concluded.
Coincidentally, the next fight of José Aldo it will be the first under Ultimate's new contract with Reebok. On July 11th, the man from Manaus will step up to the octagon to face the Irishman Conor McGregor in the main fight of UFC 189, in Las Vegas (USA).
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