The UFC has clearly been working its way up the sponsorship ladder over the years.
Bud Light has been very visible in the octagon for years and AMP Energy, a product of Pepsi, has been making a big sponsorship push as well.
Just this past year, Gatorade has gotten their hands on Georges St. Pierre, and Under Armor has been adding more UFC names to its roster.
Well, the biggest brand has finally put its mark on the UFC, Nike.
According to Sherdog.com, Anderson Silva has landed a sponsorship deal with Nike.
When Anderson Silva enters the cage to defend his UFC middleweight title Aug. 27 in Rio de Janeiro, he will do so as the first Brazilian mixed martial artist to be sponsored by Nike.
The 36-year-old Silva, who meets Japan’s Yushin Okami later this month in the main event of UFC 134, recently closed a sponsorship agreement with the sports apparel mega-brand. Nike Brazil Director of Sports Marketing Luis Alexandre confirmed the deal to UOL.com.br Tuesday; exact terms were not disclosed.
Nike is the big dog in the athletic sponsorship world and it is a big deal for all of MMA for Nike to be on board with the sport.
While it is not surprising that Silva was the one to break through, because of his talents, it is surprising that they would go the international route to start. But, hopefully Nike Brazil can market “The Spider” well and it will lead to more sponsorships for other UFC and MMA stars.
