At UFC 259, Dominick Cruz returned from a long layoff, defeated Casey Kenny via Split Decision, and then called out Hans Molenkamp, director of Monster Energy for combat sports. Cruz alleged that Molenkamp was using the prospect of continued Monster sponsorship money as leverage to get fighter involvement in content on the social network that cast him in a good light.
More critics are piling on, but longtime Monster Energy sponsored fighter Quinton “Rampage” Jackson recently spoke with John Morgan for MMA Junkie, and offered a qualified defense of the embattled Molenakamp. Jackson said he does not always see eye to eye with Molenkamp, and that the two have not spoken much lately, but that he felt the need to speak out.
I hang out with Hans when we do Monster shoots and things like, said Jackson to Morgan. Hans will ask you, ‘Let’s do this s*** for the Internet, for social media,’ but everybody does that now. If you’re a fighter or anything, and you’re hanging out with your peers or your people, people are going to ask you to do some sh*t.
No way will Hans ever ask people, ‘Do this post for me or you’re not going to get a sponsorship.’ That s*** is f***ing stupid.
It’s true – Dana White did have to get on Hans. Hans would take a picture with Conor McGregor, and he’ll take a picture like they’re talking and he’ll say, ‘Hey, we’ve got some big news.’ He’ll do that, but that’s what social media is. That’s what all those motherf***ers be doing: ‘Yeah, I’m doing big things with Conor McGregor.’ He’ll take a picture with Dana like, ‘Yeah, we’re cooking up some business.’ But I see so many other people doing that s***. Just because he works for Monster, I don’t know, I think people are hating on him.
Hans, he has that fighter spirit. He’s there for fighters. I notice that about him. And sometimes, me and Hans, we don’t see eye-to-eye. Honestly, we don’t. Sometimes Hans and I don’t see eye-to-eye, and I can understand why people would get mad at him, but whenever he asks me, ‘Let’s do this post,’ and stuff like this, and I’m like, ‘Hans, I’m overweight right now; I don’t want to do this stuff right now.’ He’s like, ‘OK, man. I get it.’ He doesn’t say, ‘Do this post or you ain’t going to get no sponsorship.’
You can ask people like Daniel Cormier, Jorge Masvidal – those fighters need to step up. Even Conor McGregor and Jon Jones. T.J Dillashaw. Juan Archuleta. These fighters need to come forward.
Hans doesn’t even have the power to say, ‘You don’t get a contract if you don’t post this or do that.’ I think he can vouch for you, but if you already got a Monster deal, he can’t just cancel your contract because you don’t do something for him. It doesn’t work that way. I just feel bad. It seems like too many people are chiming in, and I’m like, ‘How come nobody is telling the truth about Hans,’ that he isn’t like that?
He wants to post funny skits with you and stuff, but everybody does that s***. We do it to each other. I did that s*** with the Diaz brothers. I bumped into them in Vegas, and I said, ‘Hey, let’s do a funny skit.’ They could have said, ‘No.’ We did a funny skit, and that s*** went viral, like Nick tried to steal my girlfriend. We all do that s*** to each other. I don’t know why people are trying to act like that is so f***ed up.
Monster Energy said it is looking into the matter. Molenkamp has yet to publicly address the allegations.
