Belfort: I’ve lost millions because of UFC’s deal with Reebok
Vitor Belfort: “Most of [the UFC’s fighters], they are not happy. Reebok can only sponsor 11 athletes. Even those, some people say, the UFC helped them pick them.”
When the UFC signed an exclusive apparel deal with Reebok it excluded UFC athletes from representing any other brands during fight week or inside the Octagon. The deal was met with mixed reaction from fans and fighters. Vitor Belfort recently spoke to MMAFighting.com about how the deal has affected him directly:
“Most of [the UFC’s fighters], they are not happy. Reebok can only sponsor 11 athletes. Even those, some people say, the UFC helped them pick them.
“That’s not fair. That’s not fair, with a guy like me. I’ve been doing this 20 years. I lost millions of dollars with this type of deal. I’ve been doing this a long time and I have a great image. Big companies, they want to be with me but they cannot. It’s not right, and I think it’s time to change.”
Ultimately, Belfort says the UFC is the place to be, and plans to stay there. He also believes that the UFC’s owners are too smart not to adjust the current fighter sponsorship rules to be more fair.
“I’m staying. I’m very grateful for the organization,” he insisted. “But in that set of infrastructure, they are wrong. It’s wrong, what they are doing. It’s not right. I’m not happy. Not just me, but, I think, most of the fighters.
“I think they are going to change to the ATP model. They are smart businessmen. They are going to say, ‘Man, we’ve got to find something to make [fighters] happy.'”