Today marked the beginning of a new era in terms of the UFC. Last month, the promotion’s apparel deal with Reebok officially came to a close and today marked the beginning of a new day in the UFC.
Last July, we learned that the UFC had signed a new exclusive apparel deal with Venum. Venum as an apparel company has been in the fight game for a long time. They have specialized in making apparel for fighters.
We have seen Venum on the shorts of many greats in the past in the UFC. Now, Venum will be sported by all athletes competing inside the octagon. This change is welcomed by many in the industry.
The new Fight Kits were officially revealed today on the UFC‘s social media pages. The Fight Kits are relatively simplistic in design but feature the signature Venum snake. You can check out the new Fight Kits in the Instagram post below.
What the deal means for UFC fighters?
Now that there is a new sponsor, the question becomes, what does it mean for the UFC fighters? Well, in reality there’s not a ton that is changing in terms of what the fighters are getting compensated for wearing the apparel.
The new pay structure for the UFC breaks down like this:
| Number of Fights | Reebok Compensation | Venum Compensation | Percentage Increase |
| 1-3 | $3,500 | $4,000 | 14.3% |
| 4-5 | $4,000 | $4,500 | 12.5% |
| 6-10 | $5,000 | $6,000 | 20.0% |
| 11-15 | $10,000 | $11,000 | 10.0% |
| 16-20 | $15,000 | $16,000 | 6.7% |
| 21+ | $20,000 | $21,000 | 5.0% |
| Title Challenge | $30,000 | $32,000 | 6.7% |
| Title Defense | $40,000 | $42,000 | 5.0% |
As you can see, while there is an increase across the board for the athletes, the change is relatively minimal. The deal that Venum signed with the UFC is for six years and $70 million.
The Fight Kits will make their official debut this weekend at UFC Vegas 23 which is headlined by Marvin Vettori and Kevin Holland. The card is the second UFC card that will be featured on ABC so there is expected to be a big audience. The perfect time for the promotion to make their Venum debut.