The UFC will be "sponsoring Jon Jones for his fight at UFC 145 against Rashad Evans,” according to Damon Martin of MMA WEEKLY. It is “no different than any other clothing deal because the UFC is not only the top MMA promotion in the world, but they also have their own apparel line, which includes shirts, shorts, gloves and other products.” For his fight, Jones will be “decked in head to toe in UFC gear, pushing their brand instead of another company.” Jones said of UFC, “They realized I’m a company guy and they decided to sponsor me. They put in the deal that if any mainstream companies come after this win that they will let me go.” Martin noted prior to UFC 145, Jones’ major apparel sponsor “was the now defunct company, Form Athletics,” which “closed up shop late last year." That left Jones "without a set clothing sponsor” (MMAWEEKLY.com, 4/13). ESPN.com’s Chad Dundas wrote “depending on how you look at it, this is either very strange or very fitting news.” On one hand, if there is “one athlete in this sport that investors, corporate sponsors and the UFC itself should look to hitch their wagons to," it is Jones. Since the UFC has “already very much put itself in the Jon Jones business as of late,” perhaps it is “not that big of a leap for the organization to slip him a few more bucks to wear UFC brand apparel to the Octagon on Saturday.” But others might note “a developing problem of public perception here,” especially if Evans is “not also sponsored by the fight company.” Dundas: “Sponsoring Jones -- or any fighter -- only further blurs the line of what the UFC actually is and how it views its own place in the MMA landscape” (ESPN.com, 4/16).
