How Does UFC’s Exclusive Sponsorship With Venum Work?

UFC fighters, unlike those in other promotions, strictly wear Venom gear because UFC is sponsored by the global combat sports apparel and equipment brand.  The fighters receive compensation through UFC's Promotional Guidelines Compliance Program. This program pays an individual fighter a set fee per appearance based on their total tenure with the UFC and title status.

So how does this pay structure work?

The program uses tiers based on how many fights a fighter has in the UFC and whether they hold a championship. The qualifying bouts include UFC fights, Zuffa-era WEC fights, and Strikeforce fights.

The highest tier in this system belongs to the title holder, who gets a flat $42,000, followed by the title challenger, who gets $32,000. While the lowest tier belongs to fighters with one to three fights in the organisation, they get $4,000 per appearance, followed by fighters with four to five fights, who receive $4,500.

Here's the full list:

 What are the Rules and Requirements?

• • Fighters must wear official Venum fight kits and gear during fight week and inside the Octagon. Displaying personal or third-party sponsor logos on fight gear is banned.
  • To receive the compliance pay, fighters must complete required media duties, such as advance press days, fight-week promotional hours, post-fight media, and code-of-conduct compliance.
  •  In addition to the flat appearance fee, fighters receive ongoing royalty payments (typically 20 percent to 30 percent) from the sale of official UFC merchandise that bears their likeness. 

When did UFC Enroll in this Exclusive Gear Program?

This current deal with Venum started in April 2021, but the overall exclusive gear system started in July 2015 with UFC's deal with Reebok. Before the Reebok deal, fighters were allowed to wear their independent fight gear filled with their individual sponsors. 

When the Reebok deal was about to start, the UFC had planned to pay fighters based on the UFC media rankings at the time of the fight. However, after heavy backlash from some fighters and managers, the UFC abandoned the idea and built the tier system based on the tenure and championship status of the fighters.

The critics argued that the media rankings were highly subjective, could be easily influenced, and did not reflect a fighter's popularity.

Initially, this deal cost a few fighters to the UFC. Some veterans like Benson Henderson, Ryan Bader, Matt Mitrione, and Gegard Mousasi directly cited the Reebok deal as the main reason for leaving the UFC for rival promotions. 

Back then, management pushed this deal a lot to give the sport a cleaner look, like the NBA and NFL. But they were also criticized for the contradiction, considering the UFC classifies its fighters as independent contractors, yet they exert employee-like control by dictating exactly what they must wear and stripping them of their right to monetize their own commercial property (fight gear).  

On a good note, the UFC has increased the payouts in this Venum program compared to the previous Reebok deal.  UFC and Venum extended their exclusive outfitting partnership through 2029, meaning the Venum era is set to continue for the foreseeable future.