UFC
Manager: UFC Champ Anderson Silva's Nike deal now global
Sep 12, 2012 - 1:15:46 PM Manager: UFC Champ Anderson Silva's Nike deal now global

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones is no longer the only UFC fighter holding a global sponsorship deal with Nike.

In an interview with BloodyElbow.com, Ed Soares revealed that his client Anderson Silva has also gone global with the sports apparel and lifestyle brand.

"It started off as Nike Brazil, but it has since been made a global deal," Soares said. "I don't think there's another mixed martial arts athlete on the planet that deserves that more than Anderson. He's one of the best athletes out there that fits that mold, the face of Nike. Look at all the people they've sponsored. People have compared Anderson as the Michael Jordan of MMA."

"The best of the best have always had some sort of affiliation with Nike, and I think the brand fits Anderson better than any other MMA athlete in the world."

Penick's Analysis: Silva's move to a global scale with Nike is another big boon to the sport and its further evolution into the mainstream. Silva and Jones are absolutely the right two fighters to be held at the same level of the other professional athletes who have been under Nike deals in the past. It's good to see that Jones' deal this summer has opened up the gates for others already.