Jon Jones has a big sponsorship deal with Nike. But the UFC light heavyweight champion recently told MMAjunkie.com that he's fine with a plan to institute official UFC fighter uniforms, as long as it benefits the fighters who wear them.
Jones told MMAjunkie.com's Steven Marrocco that he'd like to see his fellow fighters taken care of:
I think it will be good for the mass, for all the fighters who aren’t getting paid properly by sponsors. So if it’s good for everybody, I could be OK with it.
Hopefully, the fighters are really taken care of through this deal, and not only the UFC, quite frankly. So we’ll see how that plays out.
Bleacher Report first reported the possibility of the new uniform deal after confirming the story with UFC president Dana White in February.
"We are. We're working on it," White told Bleacher Report. "But nothing yet."
Since then, the company has stated that no deal is completed.
But Twitter user Front Row Brian recently leaked an image purported to be a mock-up of the new uniform. In the image, UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman is wearing shorts and a shirt adorned with the Under Armour logo.
--Exclusive-- Leaked from the UFC offices. A preview of the new UFC uniform. Looks pretty good. Clean. pic.twitter.com/6CV0nQwaVA
— FrontRowBrian (@FrontRowBrian) March 27, 2014
Sources close to the promotion have told Bleacher Report that Under Armour is the company the UFC has chosen the handle the new uniforms. Some have speculated that an announcement will come during the week of UFC 172. The event takes place in Baltimore, the home of Under Armour's corporate headquarters.
After the images were published, the UFC issued a statement to MMAjunkie:
We continue to speak to many potential partners and will make an announcement when we reach an agreement.
Jones headlines UFC 172 with a title defense against Glover Teixeira.
