With Donald Cerrone situation, a good case for altering UFC's outfitting policy

In retrospect, picking a fight with Donald Cerrone might have been a mistake. That’s probably a thought that more than a few MMA lightweights (and, in all likelihood, at least one or two bar patrons) have had over the years, but it also might be something that’s recently occurred to the UFC and Reebok.

Then again, maybe it’s only occurred to the UFC, since Reebok probably didn’t have much to do with it, even if the apparel company once again finds itself caught in a familiar crossfire.

It started with a little strip of fabric. Cerrone, as he has done for years, affixed a piece of cloth from an old pair of fight shorts to the new Reebok ones he wore into the cage against UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos this past month at UFC on FOX 17. He does this, he said, to represent his grandmother, and also to show support for American military members.

See, that’s the other thing about this little strip of fabric. It happens to have an American flag-inspired design. Combine that with the grandmother thing, and you have yourself a wholesome shoutout doubleheader.

You also have a pretty bad reason to penalize someone, which is exactly what the UFC did when it withheld what Cerrone termed a “ludicrous” amount of money from the pay he was due under the UFC’s outfitting policy.

To his credit, Cerrone hasn’t taken the penalty lying down. In an appearance on the MMA Hour on Monday, he raged over the amount of money he lost and challenged Reebok to do something positive with it.

“I want to talk to Reebok and tell them that they can have the money,” Cerrone said. “I am OK with that. But let’s at least take that money and give it to a charity of your discretion. I don’t care who. Let’s make it Wounded Warrior (Project) or any military charity you want. Since it was a flag and I feel like it was patriotic, let’s give it back to people who are the reason I get to fight and walk around and be free every single day that they fight their lives for us. Let’s donate that to them. I’ll even double it. I’ll match the amount and give it.”

It’s a noble sentiment. Unfortunately it’s directed at the wrong target.

Reebok doesn’t have Cerrone’s money. The UFC does. And it wasn’t Reebok that made the decision to keep his money rather than pay it to Cerrone. That was the UFC too. You just can’t help but wonder if company executives aren’t now wishing that they could give it back.

In the big-picture sense, it’s somewhat understandable. If you’re going to have an outfitting policy, you need some ways to ensure compliance from those who actually have to be outfitted. Money is a reliable choice for both a carrot and a stick, rewarding the rule-followers by its presence and punishing rule-breakers with its absence.

But the Cerrone situation seems like a great example of how sometimes the one who levies the fine ends up costing himself more in the long run. And with Reebok taking yet another hit via association, it might be time to rethink certain aspects of the policy.

For one thing, think about what this Cerrone situation is really about. The strip of American flag shorts that he sews onto each new pair of shorts he wears? That’s one of his things. It’s a personalized touch, something he does for every fight. Punishing him for personalizing his fight gear – mind you, gear which has been roundly criticized for its boring sameness and uniformity – is almost exactly the opposite of what the UFC told us this Reebok deal would look like before it took effect.

Remember when the UFC first announced this exclusive deal with Reebok? UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta assured us that fighters would work with Reebok designers to create customized looks.

“If you can imagine Cain Velasquez, he obviously will have a certain look, feel and appeal to merchandise and what he wears into the octagon,” Fertitta said in December 2014.

Conor McGregor

But, with the lone exception of UFC featherweight champ Conor McGregor, who got his very own green shorts to wear into the cage at UFC 194, that’s not at all what has happened. The only choices fighters seem to get are whether they want loose-fitting shorts or tight ones, as well as white with black stripe or black with white stripe.

It’s all the same, which is bad news for a sport that’s driven by individual stars. It only makes sense that a guy like Cerrone would want to add a personal touch. So why not let him? It’s not like his patch advertised a Reebok competitor. It didn’t advertise anything. All it did was further distinguish Cerrone’s shorts from everyone else’s, and isn’t that a good thing? Don’t you want fighters to stand out?

Then there’s the issue of the money itself. As UFC officials confirmed in emails to MMAjunkie, the money withheld for outfitting policy “infractions” stays in the UFC’s pocket. That’s a bad look for the organization, since it gives the UFC a potential financial incentive to find fault with how fighters rock their Reebok.

Cerrone’s suggestion that his money go to charity is not only a good idea, it’s also a good policy. It’s what the NFL does with the money it collects in fines.

But an even better policy would be to allow for a little individual flair, within certain limits. Cerrone’s patch wasn’t an attempt to sneak a sponsor onto a broadcast. It wasn’t even unexpected. In situations like that, there’s no reason the UFC can’t work with the fighter to let him make his Reebok gear his own.

If Reebok isn’t going to take the time to create custom fight shorts for several hundred different fighters (which is understandable), why not let them submit their own customizations for prior approval?

But hey, maybe that’s not what Reebok had in mind. Maybe it ruins the dream that Reebok designers brought to life here, one where every fighter becomes a clean, exclusive canvas on which Reebok alone can pain.

Then again, Reebok probably didn’t plan on being blasted in public by Cerrone, all for money that it didn’t even receive. At this point, letting the man have his patch might sound just fine.

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