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UFC will not be extending their partnership with Reebok for fight kits beyond the agreed March 2021 deadline and have replaced them with Venum.
The deal will come to effect on April 2021 as Dana White released a statement regarding this upcoming partnership with Venum:
"We're pumped that Venum will be joining us as our new exclusive global outfitting and apparel partner. Venum is an iconic combat sports brand that understands the unique needs of MMA athletes. Franck Dupuis and his team at Venum have the technical knowledge and experience that will produce world-class UFC fight kits and apparel. We're looking forward to collaborating with them on this next evolution of UFC's outfitting program."
UFC cracks a deal with Venum
Reebok will continue as the fight promotion's footwear provider until the end of 2021 even though they are being replaced in terms of fight kits and apparel. Reebok and UFC had signed a sensational six-year, $70 million athletic wear deal back in 2014 as UFC looked to make more money off their merchandise.
This deal between the two companies would turn out to be beneficial for UFC as they were put on the map alongside sports leagues like the NFL and NBA in terms of merchandise. Dana White hailed the Reebok deal as 'groundbreaking' and added that it elevated both of brands as part of the announcement for the Venum deal.
The Reebok deal was not something many fighters wished for as they faced huge financial losses in terms of sponsorship money. Many former fighters like Brendan Schaub and Josh Thompson have been critical and spoken about it on their podcasts.
Dana White had suggested that he would prefer the same sort of model in the next kit and apparel deal in an appearance on ESPN Radio's Dan Le Batard Show, back in June.
Venum as a brand is not quite well known as Reebok, having been founded in 2006, but its focus is solely on combat sports which makes it a good partner for the UFC.
