Reebok Deal ‘Changes Nothing’ For Jose Aldo

The introduction of the UFC-Reebok deal earlier this year rocked many boats, but none more so than featherweight champion Jose Aldo’s. ‘Scarface’ blasted the deal publicly, claiming he would lose a huge amount of money in sponsors. The Brazilian has also spoke openly about the need for a fighters union and a salary pay structure.

According to Aldo’s Nova Uniao coach Andre Pederneiras, the champ won’t actually be losing that much after all. He tells MMAFighting.com that the Venum deal still pays well on a monthly basis, but ‘Scarface’ is still in negotiations with Reebok to try and work out some sort of partnership deal:

“Actually, we’re still under contract with Venum,” Pederneiras said. “Are we in negotiation with Reebok? Ever since they signed with the UFC. Not only with them, but also with a third one. We’re going to sit and talk with everyone to see what’s best for Aldo.”

“Honestly, it changes nothing for Aldo,” he said. “He lost those sponsors that pay to appear on fight night, but those monthly ones, that pay all year long, nobody left.”

A fighter with Aldo’s status is likely to have much more sway in any sort of dealings with Reebok and the likes, whereas your run of the mill contender or even gatekeeper probably won’t be getting such treatment. On to the subject of Aldo’s upcoming UFC 194 opponent Conor McGregor:

“The first month was to build the base, and today (Monday) he really started to work hard,” Pederneiras said. “Now it’s countdown to fight night.”

“We had already studied him a lot for the first fight,” he said. “The injury happened two or three weeks before the fight, and we were ready for the fight, but unfortunately he broke his rib. We are doing what we were doing before. It’s the same thing, except for some few details.”

Studying McGregor’s style may prove difficult for anybody, as the Irish interim boss tends to come in without a gameplan. We’ll see where all the trash talk leads come December, but it will certainly be the biggest 145-pound fight ever.

Stay tuned to LowKickMMA.