and what is your opinion dan, when you were with Hitman you thought the sponsor tax was the best thing since sliced bread, since it was keeping out the riff raff, still feel the same way since you aren't with the the Tapout monolith??? ...I'm guessing Metal Mulisha has the $$$ to pay the tax and resume business as usual in Strikefroce....
bjws - Not really that surprised. Zuffa is trying to attract blue chip sponsors and this is one way to do it. Nike does not want to be seen along side random local gun shop or a condom shop. They want to be seen with the likes of Bud, Ford, Harley, etc. It's really not that hard to understand. Look at what MusclePharm is doing (check the site and see who they sponsor) and you'll get an idea of the kinds of brands they want to support. Yes the fighters loose in the interm, but in the long term this is the way to grow the sport and get more money in. Besides, blame the fighters managers for not finding better deals rather than Zuffa for trying to improve the sport we love. Was WWI or WWII popular? were they necessary?
This sport is not yet a "major" and therefore can't pay as much, attracting the big blue chip sponsors and getting a network tv deal will.
This is definitely one way to look at it. It is shitty, but you can't bake a cake without breaking some eggs ...
My biggest gripe is that they're doing this on short notice (allegedly anyway) ...
Chad Griggs just confirmed this on Bloody Elbow radio. Said he only found out this week and stands to lose a lot of money. Already had his shirt and shorts done up. Good one on them for asking.
robnashville -MiddleEasy - Not entirely ttue <img src="/images/phone/post_tag.png" alt="Phone Post" border="0" style="vertical-align:middle;"/>
well you being coy isn't helping anything, feel free to correct any misinfo...
MiddleEasy was approved as a sponsor for a ZUFFA fighter on an upcoming Strikeforce card, a clothing company that we occasionaly work with was not.
I wish Joe Rogan would spend the money to have "CUNTY" on the shorts of two fighters just so the newz outlets would get all irritable. Come on, Joe. A residual check. To put "CUNTY" inside of a cage! 
JeffersonDArcyChoke - I wish Joe Rogan would spend the money to have "CUNTY" on the shorts of two fighters just so the newz outlets would get all irritable. Come on, Joe. A residual check. To put "CUNTY" inside of a cage! <img src="/images/phone/post_tag.png" alt="Phone Post" border="0" style="vertical-align:middle;"/>
This would be fucking hilarious.
TTT for anyone to pony up the 35K to get CUNTY MMA NEWZ on the ass of any televised fighter. Come on, Joe. Maybe Bundle of Sticks Fight Gear?
Conor Huen talking to 5oz of pain-
“I’d like to thank the sponsors that have been with me forever – Melee Fight Gear, On the Mat, and Bite Defense. Those guys started out with me and I don’t think they’re able to do anything for this fight due to the Zuffa sponsorship thing. Basically a week ago we found out a week ago all nutrition or apparel sponsors have to pay $10,000 per fighter or $100,000 per year. It really sucks I’m not able to help those people who helped me to get where I am. So Steve from Melee, Scott from On the Mat, and Mike from Bite Defense…those guys have been behind me, helped me out, and I really appreciate that. (Fighters) start out and those guys were sponsoring me when they weren’t getting anything for it. They’re giving me $500 to watch me fight in front of 500 people and get no return on it. It’s a shame that now I’m fighting on TV that I can’t return the favor and show them some love.”
I'm glad to see the MMA media like Zuffajunkie, er, MMAjunkie has jumped all over this story. :-(
bjws - Not really that surprised. Zuffa is trying to attract blue chip sponsors and this is one way to do it. Nike does not want to be seen along side random local gun shop or a condom shop. They want to be seen with the likes of Bud, Ford, Harley, etc. It's really not that hard to understand. Look at what MusclePharm is doing (check the site and see who they sponsor) and you'll get an idea of the kinds of brands they want to support. Yes the fighters loose in the interm, but in the long term this is the way to grow the sport and get more money in. Besides, blame the fighters managers for not finding better deals rather than Zuffa for trying to improve the sport we love. Was WWI or WWII popular? were they necessary?
This sport is not yet a "major" and therefore can't pay as much, attracting the big blue chip sponsors and getting a network tv deal will.
This is bullshit...NASCAR is one of the biggest sports on the planet and the most watched by females.
Anyone can put their name on a car, even "riff raff". Hell, Mudvayne sponsored a car back in 2002 as a marketing promotion.
What are the chances that Budweiser is going to sponsor a 3-0 fighter on the Challenger Series.
This sport was built on a grass roots style, Zuffa does not have the patience to think about the longview.
AlphaSlap - This is bullshit...NASCAR is one of the biggest sports on the planet and the most watched by females. Anyone can put their name on a car, even "riff raff". Hell, Mudvayne sponsored a car back in 2002 as a marketing promotion.
LOL at "riff raff" being able to afford a NASCAR sponsorship. That shit is expensive as hell. The "riff raff" are chased off by the high cost of sponsorship in NASCAR. Strikeforce is no different.
Absolutely disgusting to not give the fighters appropriate notice.
bjws - Not really that surprised. Zuffa is trying to attract blue chip sponsors and this is one way to do it. Nike does not want to be seen along side random local gun shop or a condom shop. They want to be seen with the likes of Bud, Ford, Harley, etc. It's really not that hard to understand. Look at what MusclePharm is doing (check the site and see who they sponsor) and you'll get an idea of the kinds of brands they want to support. Yes the fighters loose in the interm, but in the long term this is the way to grow the sport and get more money in. Besides, blame the fighters managers for not finding better deals rather than Zuffa for trying to improve the sport we love. Was WWI or WWII popular? were they necessary?
This sport is not yet a "major" and therefore can't pay as much, attracting the big blue chip sponsors and getting a network tv deal will.
Its simple really since Zuffa owns Strikeforce the fighters are going to be getting a lot more exposure and thus their sponsors will be getting just as much exposure. 10k for a fight is not that bad especially if you're running a business, if you're trying to be succesful and cant afford 10k to sponsor a fighter then you clearly aren't ready to step you business up to this level of exposure and should continue sponsoring up and coming minor league promotion fighters. Yes the short notice does seem a little unfair but I also think we may not be hearing the full story on that because I doubt a company as big as Zuffa would drop something like this at the last moment.
Also to those people complaining about 3-0 fighters not getting quality sponsorships. Considering guys like Chris Weidman was only 4-0 going into his first UFC match he didn't seem to be struggling finding sponsorships. The fighters that are really going to suffer are the ones that can't market themselves enough to the point of where they get quality sponosors. If the TUF fighters and and guys like Weidman and many of the people from WEC can do it with little to no exposure so can the lower level guys in Strikeforce.
^^ gotta say i agree here
It makes sense, its a business, and all businesses want to make money not lose, although that will be pretty hard to do with Strikeforce.
I'm starting to see that the UG is strikeforce biased and less of a news outfit and more of a TMZ type 'news' site..the reporting on MMAFighting.com is superior...
epwar - I'm glad to see the MMA media like Zuffajunkie, er, MMAjunkie has jumped all over this story. :-(
DeMarco Murray, IMO......
I understand this policy for larger companies that don't really give a shit about the fighter, and just want their logos tagged anywhere they can in the UFC.
But their are a lot of legitimate companies who are really looking to help guys build their careers, and the fact that unless they can afford to pay 30k for a certain time period, they can't have their shit shown on the UFC seems like a lot of bullshit.
Feel really bad for the fighters...especially the ones that cant get big name sponsors who don't mind throwin down 30k
zFugitive - I understand this policy for larger companies that don't really give a shit about the fighter, and just want their logos tagged anywhere they can in the UFC.
But their are a lot of legitimate companies who are really looking to help guys build their careers, and the fact that unless they can afford to pay 30k for a certain time period, they can't have their shit shown on the UFC seems like a lot of bullshit.
Feel really bad for the fighters...especially the ones that cant get big name sponsors who don't mind throwin down 30k
Did you not see the post with the Connor Huen interview it's 10k to sponsor a fighter for one fight or 100k for a year. Besides that its about give and take, sure these smaller companies may be helping out up and coming fighters but when your fighter is crossing over into the big leagues on nationally televised companies like strikeforce and ufc you're getting just as much exposure and hype behind your brand as the fighter is. So in order for you to get that kind of exposure you have to invest some money to get it. There's no such thing as free publicity.
Pure - Absolutely disgusting to not give the fighters appropriate notice.I agree. Makes me think Zuffa has a specific sponsor targeted that they are trying to punish and everybody else is just collateral damage.
UltraMagnus - And by buying out the competition and bullying them to lower ranks means less and less ways to view other shows and other outlets or promotions of this sport.......If it was't for Zuffa the sport would be dead in America already.
They keep going like this the sport will be dead....