UFC heavyweight contender Tanner Boser was very honest about UFC sponsorships in a recent interview. He blatantly slammed brands that sponsor the UFC yet don’t contribute anything to the actual athletes.
Sponsorships in the UFC have experienced some changes throughout the years. Back in the day, UFC athletes were allowed to have their own sponsors. They can wear their own apparel with brands’ logos on it.
In 2015, the UFC signed an exclusive partnership deal with Reebok to sponsor the athletes. This means that Rebook became the only provider for the athletes’ apparel and equipment. UFC athletes were also required to wear Reebok’s apparel during media week, walkout, and press conference. But, the athletes still received a bit of compensation money.
The deal with Reebok ended in 2021, and sponsorships have become a huge problem for UFC athletes. Currently, UFC apparel sponsor and manufacturer is Venum. Similar to Reebok, Venum also compensates the athletes.
However Venum is in the minority. UFC currently has more than 30 sponsors and athletes are sponsored just by Venum, Prime and Monster.
UFC heavyweight Tanner Boser revealed that other brands don’t compensate the athletes. These brands included Crypto.com, Project Rock, DraftKings, Monster Energy, and many more.
Boser recently did an interview with James Lynch. At the end of the talk, Lynch asked whether Boser wanted to thank either coaches, fellow athletes, or sponsors. He thanked Venum for providing compensation but then went on to blast other brands without holding back.
“I guess for sponsors [to thank] I have Venum, who actually gives me money, and not every f*ckface company that puts their logo all over my sh*t that I don’t get a single penny from like Crypto.com and all those other ones. [They] can go eat a f*cking dick and ‘The Rock’s’ (Dwayne Johnson) shoes can go f*ck themselves, too. So, thank you to Venum for actually paying me to wear their sh*t.” Boser said.
Tanner Boser competes mainly in the heavyweight division. The 31-year-old joined the UFC in 2019 and has gone 4-5. His latest octagon appearance was back in April when he took on Ion Cutelaba where he lost via first-round technical knockout.
Boser will return to action at UFC FN 225 on August 5. ‘The Bulldozer’ is set to face Aleksa Camur on the main card.