Israel Adesanya and Alexander Volkanovski have now been named as the first official athletes to be sponsored/partnered by Logan Paul’s Prime energy drink.
Paul and his company Prime announced a three-year deal with the UFC in February of 2023. The deal made Prime the “Official Sports Drink” of the UFC and secured Prime promotion at the UFC’s performance institute and on-air during the fights.
Prime branding was also made to be seen in-between rounds, and their logo was even added to the red and blue stools the fighters would sit on during the short one-minute break they receive. The assets started to flood in at UFC 284 and Prime has been a featured part of the UFC since then.
Now, it seems Israel Adesanya and Alexander Volkanovski are taking things a step further, by officially becoming partnered representatives of Prime themselves, and making a little bit of Prime history in doing so.
Israel Adesanya and Alexander Volkanovski sign with Prime, much to the disapproval of fans on Twitter
While the signing is indeed historic, many fans were not too happy about this deal. Logan and Jake Paul do not get a lot of love in MMA, and the Prime deal was met with a lot of backlash to begin with when it was officially announced.
“Life finds the weirdest ways to disappoint you,” one fan said on Twitter. “Two of our favorite fighters (in Israel Adesanya and Alex Volkanovski) and they sold their souls to Logan? Nice,” another fan said sarcastically.
Another fan expressed their distaste for the deal, and mentioned that other fighters with less name value could really have benefitted from the deal: “So many other up-and-comers that deserved this sponsorship money. These guys are multi-millionaires. Pocket change money, people like Joaquin Buckley and Matthew Frevola would of been life-changing for them.”
So many other up and comers that deserved this sponsorship money. These guys are multi millionaires. Pocket change money, people like @Newmansa94 and @SteamRollaa would of been life changing for them.
— Yairs Submissions
(@oleschmeed) June 4, 2023
(@oleschmeed)
What’s your opinion on this new signing of Israel Adesanya and Alex Volkanovski to Prime?