UFC says middleweight Tim Kennedy's jersey – and others – will be available for sale

Tim Kennedy

Along with others on the UFC’s roster, middleweight Tim Kennedy’s Reebok jersey will go up for sale sometime in the near future, according to the promotion.

After Kennedy was critical of Reebok sponsor payouts associated with this month’s UFC Fight Night 73, several online observers pointed out his athlete jersey was not available for sale on Reebok’s website.

But the UFC said Kennedy’s “fight kit” is in the process of being finalized, and the promotion is not punishing the fighter for his recent comments.

“The unavailability of Tim Kennedy’s fight kit has absolutely nothing to do with his comments regarding the UFC athlete outfitting policy,” UFC PR rep Paige Berger told MMAjunkie in an email. “We are working with all UFC athletes to ensure their kits are available to the public for purchase.”

Kennedy (18-5 MMA, 3-1 UFC) is the No. 7 ranked fighter in the promotion – after a bump up from No. 8 – and remains unbooked after a controversial loss this past September to current contender Yoel Romero. He currently sits at No. 8 on the NOS Energy Drink MMA middleweight rankings.

During his time off, Kennedy has been vocal about the UFC and its business practices. In a recent interview with MMAFighting.com, he claimed he made more money in sponsorship than all of the fighters on UFC Fight Night 73’s fight card combined and called the state of the sport “horrible, tragic, and pathetic.”

It’s not the first time Kennedy has been derisive of the UFC and its business practices. Earlier this year, he mocked Reebok payout tiers. In 2013, he publicly apologized after claiming he would make more money as a garbage collector than as a UFC fighter.

The veteran middleweight today said his status with Reebok bears a striking similarity to other fighters who’ve been publicly critical of the UFC’s deal with the apparel maker, including Brendan Schaub, two-time title challenger Gilbert Melendez and Nate Diaz.

“There might be a pretty apparent coincidence that every one of us doesn’t have a fight kit available,” Kennedy said. “Is that coincidence or by design?”

There are others, however, whose Reebok fight kits appear to be unavailable. Ex-welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre, who stepped away from the sport in 2013, is listed on a drop-down list of athletes on the apparel maker’s website, but his jersey can’t be purchased. Ex-light heavyweight champ Quentin “Rampage” Jackson is also absent, as is ex-champ and multi-time title challenger Vitor Belfort, who’s now booked to face Dan Henderson at UFC Fight Night 77.

“Fight kits that are offered to the public are intended to reflect athletes’ styles and customization choices and, as each kit is designed and finalized, they will be made available for purchase at various retail channels,” Berger wrote to MMAjunkie.

Kennedy said he wants to return to the UFC’s octagon but has yet to find an opponent who will agree to fight him. He said he asked for bouts with Henderson and Belfort in July only to see them booked to face each other a third time.

Recently, Kennedy returned from filming a reality show set to air in October on the History Channel and signaled he is available to fight.

“I’m not on hiatus,” he said. “My management just talked to them about specific fights. Everyone I ask for either fails a drug test or says no, or the UFC never asked them. I don’t know. We’ll see.”

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.