LAS VEGAS — Tim Means won’t be competing in a fashion show this weekend, but it’s still somewhat important to look the part of an MMA bad ass before the biggest UFC event of the year. Means didn’t feel like he was adequately able to do that with the gear he was given by Reebok.
“I had a couple shirts that were skintight,” Means said. “I don’t know if you’ve seen my physique, but I don’t really pull off the muscle shirts real good.”
Means and many of his fellow fighters said the fit was not great on their Reebok clothing and that’s certainly a concern as the UFC heads into its first weekend as uniform partners with the apparel brand. Means will fight Matt Brown at UFC 189 on Saturday here at MGM Grand.
Angela Magana also said none of her clothes fit, and Jeremy Stephens had a similar experience.
“Everything was off,” Magana said. “Look how big this is. The waist is big. This [shirt] is really tight. I’m an athlete. You’d think they’d make it for athlete bodies, but I guess I’m a weird body type.”
The good news is that the UFC and Reebok have people on hand to tailor the duds on the spot, especially the stuff fighters will wear in the Octagon. Magana, who fights Michelle Waterson at The Ultimate Fighter 21 Finale on Sunday night, said she had the alterations made and everything was good after that.
“They told me to check my stuff and told me to see if it fit good, especially the fight day stuff,” said Michael Graves, who meets Vicente Lucque at the TUF Finale. “They want to make sure that everyone is comfortable so that they can compete.”
Graves and Cathal Pendred said all of their Reebok stuff fit perfectly. Waterson said the same, but she’s going to reserve judgment until fight night, because she isn’t sure how the clothes will feel when she’s actually fighting. Overall, though, she’s a fan of the Reebok deal.
“I’ve had so many wardrobe malfunctions over the years in fighting that it’s like I just had given up,” Waterson said. “I’d get a package in a few days before the fight with stuff and it’d be like, ‘Are you kidding me? I’m swimming in this.’ You just have to go with the flow and deal with things. It’s nice to have somebody there, ‘Oh, this is too tight, let me stitch it up for you.'”
The customization that Reebok promised at the unveiling press conference two weeks ago seems to be more about fit than design. Graves said that he requested shorter shorts — it makes it more comfortable for him to kick — and the UFC/Reebok uniform people complied.
Basically, as soon as a fighter arrives in the host city of the event they’ll receive a bag with a host of Reebok gear, from sneakers to t-shirts to workout pants to hoodies. The fighter will try on the stuff and if it doesn’t fit it can be altered on the spot with the fight night apparel taking first precedence, of course. Stephens was still waiting on some of his fight-week things to get back in the correct size.
“I didn’t really know what to expect, but I thought I was going to get a little bit more gear to cut weight in, a little bit more to display out there,” said Stephens, who fights Dennis Bermudez at UFC 189. “But I haven’t even gotten my right sizes yet, so I’m waiting to get my right sizes. They gave me mediums. I needed larges. Then the guy goes back and gets me more mediums, so I haven’t even gotten, like, my right sizes yet. But it is what it is. I’m not really worried about Reebok or whatever. I’m wearing the gear on fight night. That gear fits. That’s the only gear that matters.”
Another issue is with the design, which has been criticized by many people, including fighters. Bermudez was bummed that he didn’t get any input on the fighter kits. Jorge Masvidal is hoping they allow fighters at least some individuality.
“I don’t know how lenient they’ll be with the design making and stuff,” Masvidal said. “That’s what I want to get into. I wasn’t a huge fan of the design for my shirt.
“I posted a few pictures online and the fans weren’t too nice. They’ve been putting up pictures of me and like dudes racing bikes. They be telling me the only thing you’re missing is the helmet and shoes.”
What Masvidal does like is that he gets to represent Cuba, the country his father comes from, with the colors of the Cuban flag on his kit. Bermudez is thinking about doing the same thing for Puerto Rico and Magana is very excited about wearing Mexican colors.
“It makes my dad proud,” Masvidal said. “Me and my dad have an awesome relationship. Just because of life, he couldn’t be there for a lot of it, though we’ve always been like best friends.
“He gets real happy when he sees the flag on me. He’s like, ‘That’s my boy.’ It makes him even more crazy.”
For the most part, at this point in the week, all fighters care about is getting in there and getting their hand raised. Brown said he was indifferent about the Reebok deal; he just wants to see more swag.
“I wish they would give me more gear,” Brown said. “So Reebok, if you’re listening: I like your gear, maybe send me five or six boxes full. Big boxes.”