When Johny Hendricks enters the Octagon at UFC 167, the scars from the second-degree burns he suffered while doing promotional work for his fight against UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre will be covered with a fresh sponsor tee. That sponsor will be Reebok.
Reebok, according to UFC Tonight, has agreed to pay the UFC’s sponsor tax on a one-fight deal with Hendricks. The company has toyed with sponsoring UFC fighters in the past, notably Quinton “Rampage” Jackson prior to his UFC on Fox 6 fight against Glover Teixeira. However, Reebok balked at paying the sponsor tax that would have allowed Jackson to sport the Reebok logo in the Octagon.
The one-fight deal may be a test run for Reebok to see what type of bang they get for their buck with the UFC. Hendricks and St-Pierre will meet in the main event of UFC 167, which just happens to be the UFC’s 20th anniversary event. The pay-per-view card is receiving a heavy push from the UFC, including a “20 days to UFC 167” promotional tour.
The significance of UFC 167, coupled with the fact that the UFC’s pay-per-view king, St-Pierre will be Hendricks’ opponent should give Reebok a good idea of what their next step should be in their relationship with the UFC and its fighters.
Now, about those aforementioned scars on Hendricks. It seems the No. 1 ranked welterweight contender got a little too close to the lights during filming of a commercial for his fight against St-Pierre. The result, second-degree burns to Hendricks’ back.
UFC 167 will take place on November 16 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
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