Champ Jon Jones says he's OK with UFC uniforms if it benefits the fighters

Unless he works out a special arrangement, light heavyweight champion Jon Jones could lose money if the UFC decides to institute mandatory uniforms. Yet he isn’t opposed to the idea.

“I think it will be good for the mass, for all the fighters who aren’t getting paid properly by sponsors,” he said. “So if it’s good for everybody, I could be OK with it.”

Jones, who later this month meets Glover Teixeira at UFC 172, said that as long as the money is routed to the right place, he’s on board.

“Hopefully, the fighters are really taken care of through this deal, and not only the UFC, quite frankly,” he said. “So we’ll see how that plays out.”

UFC officials continue to deny any deal is in place to outfit fighters in uniforms despite a leaked mock-up and details offered by UFC President Dana White, who said the idea would benefit lower-level fighters but wouldn’t affect stars such as Jones.

“Those are the guys that are making tons of money anyway, and they make big money on sponsorship,” White said.

However, a contract between the UFC an apparel maker such as UnderArmour, which appeared in the mockup, certainly could put a squeeze on Jones and his deal with Nike. The champ broke ground this past year by inking a deal with the industry-leading company.

Jones already has a signature Nike shoe and t-shirt, “Bones Knows,” which sold well.

The UFC’s uniform-free workplace is unique from other sporting franchises, which carry strict requirements on what athletes wear and contract with apparel makers for exclusive apparel deals. In lieu of a uniform, UFC fighters and their managers strike their own apparel deals and negotiate for advertising space on their clothing, which the promotion reviews prior to events.

A dip in the market has prompted many fighters to complain about a lack of sponsors, which prompted the promotion to look into the issue this past year. White spoke about a sponsorship program that would streamline the sponsorship process before contemplating uniforms, which, according to reports, would leave a limited amount of space on which fighters could procure their own sponsors.

The gap between the UFC’s boosted branding opportunity and benefit to the fighters is, of course, a pressing issue.

For the latest on UFC 172, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.