No wonder Jose Aldo was so vocal about his dislike for UFC’s controversial Reebok deal.
The undisputed greatest pound-for-pound in the UFC turned down an offer from Reebok to stay with Venum, and now he might lose his deal anyway.
Aldo was one of the harshest critics of the UFC’s sponsorship deal with Reebok, and famously tore it apart in an uncharacteristic diatribe in Brazil.
But ahead of arguably the biggest fight of his career against Conor McGregor at UFC 194, “Scarface” could part ways with Venum.
“We have a contract with Aldo until October, and we’ll have a conversation to see if it’s worth to continue with the sponsorship,” Venum’s Andre Vieira told Ag. Fight. “It’s really positive for the brand to have Jose Aldo as your cover boy, but do people see that? Does it bring us more visibility? Who gets this information?”
Prior to the Reebok deal, Aldo would wear Venum apparel walking into the cage, while fighting and at media events. Under the terms of the UFC’s deal with Reebok, fighters are only allowed to wear Reebok sportswear at UFC events, including the fights themselves.
As a result, Venum have stopped sponsoring several fighters in the promotionand Aldo could be the next to lose his deal.
“It was a different story in the past,” Vieira said. “If I gave Jose Aldo 10,000 reais per month, I would get it back in return. Today, to have a third of this return, I have to give Aldo two 2,000 reais and spend more 8,000 in advertisement. It’s too much.”
