Conor McGregor Refused To Wear Reebok At UFC 189?
Cast your minds back to July 11th 2015, it wasn’t long ago, and the mega PPV (pay-per-view) UFC 189 card from Las Vegas, Nevada. Conor McGregor took part in the headlining action, as he finished Chad Mendes in two rounds to claim the interim featherweight title, and sent a stern message to the absent Jose Aldo in doing so. The card will undoubtedly go down as one of the best ever, but there’s a little snippet of news that seems to have been passed over.
Apparently, according to former UFC title challenger and outspoken pro wrestler Chael Sonnen, Conor McGregor straight-up refused to wear the UFC Reebok ‘fighter kit”. Chatting to Bloody Elbow, ‘The American Gangster’ claims the first Irish UFC belt holder even had the contract pulled out to try and convince him to shell up in Reebok gear:
“Conor did not wear Reebok (at the Mendes weigh in). He wore something else and behind the scenes they were giving him his Reebok kit,” Sonnen said. He refused to wear it. They said “Hey, you have to wear this” and McGregor said “I’m different, I’m not like those other guys. I’m not wearing it”, so they get out the Contract and everything and they tell him “you have to do this” and Conor said “I’m not doing it”. When the weigh in rolled around he did not wear the Reebok stuff.”
Further to this, Sonnen claims that UFC president Dana White told McGregor in the octagon after his TKO win to wear the branded gear, and ‘The Notorious’ refused once again:
“After the fight Dana gets in the octagon and hands him the Reebok shirt (black champion shirt) and goes ‘you have to put this on’ and Conor did not respond, he just looked at Dana. And when he did his post fight (interview) he did not put the shirt on.”
This could lead to interesting questions regarding the UFC’s standards involving breaches of the Reebok fight gear contract, as you’ll remember that Jacob ‘Stitch’ Duran was sacked for merely questioning why he wouldn’t be getting paid for endorsing the Reebok brand.
The sports apparel manufacturer later washed their hands of involvement, and White ousted Duran from the friend zone in more recent news. So what’s good for the goose is clearly not good for the gander here, and McGregor’s massive PPV draw and fan following clearly can open any door for him.
Will more fighters now count themselves out of the Reebok deal in this fashion, or is it only guys like Conor McGregor that would have the clout to do so?
