Video: Miesha Tate, Nate Diaz, others discuss flaws of UFC-Reebok deal

Now that they’ve had a few weeks to digest the news, what do fighters make of the new UFC-Reebok deal? One notable recently discussed an obvious flaw of the system.

As a quick refresher, the UFC announced its new “athlete outfitting policy” with Reebok this past month. The deal will eliminate all other fight-week/fight-night sponsors, and in a potentially troublesome aspect of the program, rankings will determine how much sponsor money each fighter receives.

Have a big fan following – one that past sponsors have capitalized on – but not ranked? You’ll be on the lowest end of the pay scale.

That’s a tough pill to swallow for someone like former UFC title challenger Miesha Tate. While lower-end and lesser-experienced fighters are likely to come out ahead, ones with bigger followings than similarly ranked fighters could stand to lose.

“I feel like there definitely probably should be some balance between rankings and draw,” Tate said. “Rankings aren’t always accurate (for something like this). Sometimes the No. 3 person had half the draw as the No. 5 person does. Sometimes it just works out that way.

“I feel like a big part of our careers is obviously fighting, but the other big part of it is entertainment. That’s what we do. We get in there to fight, but we fight to entertain. So really, I think they should probably balance it on both ends of the spectrum.”

Check out the above video as Tate, Nate Diaz, Roy Nelson, Bryan Caraway, Rory MacDonald and Dominick Cruz discuss a program that still prompts a lot of questions and concerns.

And for more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.