If anyone out there thought UFC fighters were totally on board with Reebok at this point, they were proved sorely mistaken on Tuesday.
Speaking out on his Instagram account, former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum tore into the apparel company with a harsh, and borderline not safe for work, post:
The apparently altered image shows Werdum ahead of his UFC 203 fight opposite Travis Browne with the Reebok logos removed from his uniform and replaced with the Nike swoosh. While that can be seen as a subtle swipe at Reebok on its own, the Brazilian minced no words in the accompanying text. According to MMAFighting.com's Guilherme Cruz, the hashtags translate to "#suck #myballs #reebok."
As if his point weren't clear enough, he took to Facebook later in the day to explain his stance. Speaking directly to his fans through video, he flatly stated he was "protesting." He continued, saying the following, as translated by Cruz:
It was just a protest, something that before we could show any sponsor we wanted. We used to get real good money, it was a lot different from Reebok. Today, with Reebok there is a pay scale, if you have a certain number of fights you get $5,000, $8,000. Of course it's good money, but nothing like it was before, so of course it was a protest.
While his verbiage and hostility is a bit surprising, his gripe is not.
In 2015, the UFC implemented its "athlete outfitting policy," which required fighters to wear Reebok apparel for all fight week events, including media day, open workouts and the actual bout. For fans and pundits, it has been a comedy of errors defined by misspelled names and a general lack of cultural sensitivity. For fighters, however, the policy has sliced their paychecks considerably, with elite-level stars making as little as $2,500 in sponsorships per fight.
While a handful of UFC competitors came out in favor of the deal, the overwhelming majority spoke out against it, with reactions ranging from begrudging acceptance to outright hostility. Though talk has quieted in the 18 months since its initial reveal, the lingering resentment toward both the UFC and Reebok doesn't appear to have gone away.
Werdum isn't necessarily planning to take any action over his dissatisfaction. There isn't a longstanding public conflict between any of the involved parties, and he hasn't historically been at odds with the promotion.
Still, this is an interesting comment from a big-name fighter at a strange time for the sport.
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