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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
While some UFC fighters don't yet have uniforms on sale on Reebok.com, one fighter now on the Bellator roster does, and he's not happy about it.
Josh Koscheck signed with Bellator late last week, but despite moving on from the UFC, his name was on a shirt for purchase on Reebok's site on Tuesday when the new fighter kits went live. Koscheck says his previous contract with the UFC gave him full control over his name, so on top of being a Bellator fighter now, Koscheck says they had no right to sell anything with his name on it.
In a post to Instagram, Koscheck ripped Reebok, and the entire deal over the way it's taking money away from the fighters.
A photo posted by Josh Koscheck (@joshkoscheck) on
Koscheck also spoke to MMAJunkie.com, and expanded even further on his mindset as he fights for a new organization for the first time in a decade:
"Finally, I get to take off my handcuffs and I don't have to be tied to the UFC rules, restrictions and underground rules. Like, 'Oh, we'll take care of you if you do what we say.' Yeah, I went along with the game just like all these fighters are now. I got some good bonuses, absolutely, but some fights I thought I deserved a bigger bonus, or a better bonus for stepping up on short notice. Sometimes those bonuses were s***. I can finally just say what I want and not have any repercussions because they don't own me anymore. It's kind of nice to have that feeling and that weight lifted off my shoulders...
I spoke with them briefly, for like two seconds on the phone; they offered something and I said, ‘No thanks.' I could make more money being a bartender somewhere basically. At the end of the day it's a business. Bellator and Scott Coker put an offer together that I couldn't resist, and we sent it over to the UFC to match and they couldn't match it, so here I am – signed with Bellator, and I couldn't be more thrilled.
Reebok deal had a big part to do with it; this Reebok deal is not good for the fighters and the media knows it, the fans know it, and the fighters know it. The only thing this Reebok deal is good for, in my opinion, is the UFC. I don't even know if it's going to be good for them. I saw them posting stuff today regarding the Reebok deal and showing some of the designs. I left at the right time, that's for sure, because those designs are hideous. That Reebok deal, in my opinion, is bad.
I don't think it supports the fighters and the fighters need to stand up and say, 'Sorry, we're out. We're going to fight our contracts out and get the hell out of this.' Or at least be able to negotiate. My suggestion for all fighters, all these UFC fighters out there and all fighters in general – fight your fights out, fight your contracts out, because you're never going to know your market value until you fight your fights out and become a free agent."
Penick's Analysis: Of the many, many, many day one screw ups we've seen from Reebok today, this is one of the most egregious. If Koscheck had his own deal in place as it was, and didn't amend it to be part of the deal, they shouldn't have had any merchandise with his name on it listed at all. Add in the fact that he's no longer on the roster and is indeed in another organization, and it's absolutely ridiculous that he was listed on their site today. If they fail to remove it in timely fashion, Koscheck could have cause to take legal action against them. As for his thoughts on the UFC, it's clear he wasn't happy down the stretch, and though I don't blame the UFC for a less than stellar contract offer given his five fight losing streak, he made the right move for himself given the way he felt about the organization.
[Josh Koscheck art by Cory Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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