The battle between employee and independent contractor status didn’t start with the UFC. And frankly, given the hyper-individualistic and competitive nature of the sport, that battle may still be a long way away from anything the promotion has to actually confront. But, whenever (if ever) that day does arrive, it seems a near certainty that one of the major talking points will be over the UFC’s Reebok deal.
The Zuffa-era decision to bring in a single sponsor, to take over outfitting of the 500+ (at any given time) fighters under contract, cut a serious hole in some fighters’ pockets.