UFC employee criticizes agreement with Reebok and ends up being fired

Stitch (left) took care of Ultimate athletes for many years. Photo: Disclosure/UFC

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The exclusive agreement on the supply of uniforms and sponsorship between UFC and Reebok, announced last year and in force since the beginning of July, has already caused a lot of controversy, but this time it was responsible for a dismissal. After harshly criticizing the restrictions imposed by the contract, the “cutman” (responsible for treating the cuts and injuries of athletes in the octagon) Jacob “Stitch” Duran ended up being fired by the Ultimate organization.

“It was quite a blow. I receive monthly payments, so sponsorships added to my salaries. I was making good money from sponsors and that's kind of the terrible transition. This is what I do full time. I also work in boxing, but the pay scale there is different. Fighters pay you directly in boxing, while in MMA it's the promoters who pay you to work entire events. With boxers, especially when you're working with the big guys, you earn more and so it's good to have sponsorships in MMA. In this case, maybe I'll start looking for boxing people again. We were told that we were basically not part of the Reebok negotiations and that they would only involve fighters. I don't think they did it out of malice, but I think we're doing a great job and they just forgot about us. I also think they didn't think or understand the kind of value we could offer”, said Stitch, in an interview with the website “Bloody Elbow”.

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Principal cutman of the UFC, Stitch had been working in the largest MMA organization on the planet for many years and was one of the most recognized figures in the event outside the octagon. Interestingly, he was the second important “behind the scenes” name to leave Ultimate in recent months, as “athletes’ nanny” Burt Watson also terminated his contract.