UFC featherweight Conor McGregor is ready to lend Reebok his marketing muscle.
McGregor announced today a deal with the apparel giant, tweeting, “Congratulations to @Reebok on netting the biggest signature in the game. #StayReady”
McGregor joins a list of sponsored athletes that until his addition only featured UFC champs or ex-champs: UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones, ex-welterweight champ Johny Hendricks, lightweight champ Anthony Pettis and women’s bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey.
Of course, with the UFC’s uniform deal with Reebok set to take effect in July, there will be plenty of fighters reaping the benefits of wearing its logo.
The message, however, is clear: McGregor stands a cut above his contemporaries, including featherweight champ Jose Aldo, who has yet to announce an exclusive deal with Reebok.
Recently, UFC President Dana White declared McGregor “the most marketable fighter of all time” and talked up a potential title fight between the Irish fighter and Brazilian champ Aldo (25-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC), who referred to McGregor as the court jester of the 145-pound division.
But first, McGregor (16-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) needs to get past the man who could derail his speeding hype train. On Sunday, he meets Dennis Siver (22-9 MMA, 11-6 UFC) in the headliner of UFC Fight Night 59 at Boston’s TD Garden. Lose that fight, and all the marketing muscle behind McGregor could suddenly wither.
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