Bader: I’m making way more in sponsorships at Bellator than UFC
Ryan Bader: “I had a couple really good blue-chip sponsors that have stood by us through the whole Reebok deal that are still there.”
When light heavyweight Ryan Bader signed with Bellator MMA, one of the attractions was the promotion’s open apparel sponsorship policy. In the UFC fighters have to wear Reebok during fight week and in the Octagon, in return for tiered payouts that range from $2,500 for fighters with five or fewer fights to $40,000 for champions. In Bellator, fighters can seek their own sponsors. Bader was making $15,000 per event when he left the UFC.
When Benson Henderson left the UFC for Bellator MMA, he too cited the open sponsorship as a plus. However, the shorts Henderson wore for his Bellator debut, a welterweight title shot, featured just two logos – the gym he trains at (MMA Lab) and the noble Folds of Honor which provides educational scholarships to the children and spouses of fallen and disabled US service members.
Bader makes his Bellator debut vs light heavyweight champion Phil Davis at Bellator 180, on June 24 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. And he told Mike Bohn for MMAjunkie that his sponsorships are sold out for the event, and total a multiple of what he made from Reebok.
It will be three to four times what I was getting with Reebok, for sure, said Bader. I had a couple really good blue-chip sponsors that have stood by us through the whole Reebok deal that are still there – like the American Ethanols and things of that sort. Then we got some new sponsors coming on board. We’re full for this fight.
People are like, ‘Oh, you’re in Bellator, so it’s going to be harder to find sponsors.’ That wasn’t the case at all. There’s more opportunity in that aspect, and we’re full. I’m getting much more money than I was in the UFC in sponsorship revenue. I’m feeling good, I’m excited, and I’m happy to be in Bellator. I’m coming for the belt, and I can’t wait. I’m going to make the best of it.