UFC
Dana White says UFC/Reebok deal criticisms are "short-sighted," fighters complaining "don't get it."
May 21, 2015 - 11:50:01 AM Dana White says UFC/Reebok deal criticisms are "short-sighted," fighters complaining "don't get it."

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

"The fighters aren't thrilled about it. I don't know, man. These guys don't get it. These guys are short-sighted sometimes. It's good for the industry. It's good for everybody. You want to have a deal like this. Let me tell you what's going on. Our weigh-ins are live on TV. You see some of the underwear these guys wear? Guys in like SpongeBob SquarePants underwear. We need to take this thing to the next level and have them in all Reebok gear... Reebok has stepped up. These guys have spent a lot of money. We're giving every dime of the money that's coming in to the athletes.

...Change. Change freaks everybody out. Listen, these guys can all keep their sponsors. They can all have them. They just can't wear them in the octagon. That's no different from any other sports organization on earth. NFL, NBA, Major League Baseball. It was the next step for the evolution of the sport. It had to be done, but nobody likes change... If this thing goes right and it does well, there could be a Michael Jordan for Reebok in this group of guys and girls. It could be Ronda. It could be this one or that one that could have a long-lasting relationship with Reebok for the rest of their life. It's a good thing."

-Dana White continues to criticize those speaking out about the UFC's deal with Reebok in an interview with Power 106 Los Angeles (transcribed by David St. Martin at MMAFighting.com).

Penick's Analysis: If anyone doesn't "get it" at this point it seems to be White. If "every dime" of this is actually going to the fighters, they should open up the books on the deal and be transparent about their costs and why the payouts as they stand don't add up to what they should. And the continued "they can keep their sponsors" line of argument is asinine when that's not how sponsorship has worked in the sport to date. And ultimately, it goes back to the simple fact that the fighters themselves had no say in negotiating how this would get paid out. The UFC may feel it needed to change to make it seem like one of the "big boy" sports, but the fighters aren't getting paid like it's one of the "big boy" sports, and they don't have the rights afforded to athletes in those other sports either. Calling fighters "short-sighted" when it's their current livelihood at stake is ridiculous.

[Dana White art by Travis Beaven (c) MMATorch.com]