Bellator President Scott Coker: UFC-Reebok deal 'should be against the labor laws or something'

One of the reasons Bellator could become more attractive to prospective free-agent fighters is the UFC Athlete Outfitting Partnership with Reebok.

The UFC-Reebok deal certainly hasn’t received better than a mix of positive and negative reactions since coming about in Dec. 2014.

It certainly weighed heavily on Bellator light heavyweight champion Ryan Bader, who signed with Bellator in March after eight years in the UFC and won the title over Phil Davis at Bellator 180. In the lead-up to this past Saturday’s fight, Bader (23-5 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) raised some eyebrows when he told MMAjunkie in April he would make “three to four times” more in sponsorship money with Bellator than under the UFC-Reebok deal, which earned him just $15,000 in his 20th and final fight.

Bader’s situation might not necessarily be the norm, though. Benson Henderson, who was among the first in what’s become a notable list of fighters to jump from the UFC to Bellator, said he struggled to find sponsors because the market had largely dried up.

In any case, Bellator President Scott Coker can’t understand how the UFC-Reebok deal is even legal.

“Listen, they’re independent contractors. How they’re forced to wear a uniform, to this day, still baffles me,” Coker said during “The MMA Hour” on Monday. “It should be against the labor laws or something. Because you have to wear this sponsor thing? You have to wear this certain uniform when you fight? To me, they’re independent contractors. They should go out and get whatever sponsors they want, and if Ryan Bader or whoever went out and made a million dollars in sponsorship, good for you. We don’t touch any of that.”

Whether you’re in favor of the UFC-Reebok deal or against it, the fact remains it was agreed to without fighters involved in negotiations. And isn’t it fair to wonder if they should have say in something like this?

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