In the fallout of his brawl with Daniel Cormier at the MGM Grand in early August, UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones lost his Nike sponsorship deal. Jones admitted as much during a disciplinary hearing with the Nevada Athletic Commission in late September.
But it looks like Jones may end up landing on his feet again.
As reported on UFC Tonight’s Ariel Helwani, “Bones” and his management team are in talks to form a sponsorship partner in Reebok. The report also said that he’s in talks with other major names, but that the shoe and apparel company is on the leaderboard.
Jones has been a seminal figure in North American mixed martial arts for landing two of the most coveted sports sponsors going — Nike and Gatorade. When he fought Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 165 in Sept. 2013, Jones had only those symbols on his fight trunks. Nike released a line of shoes for Jones, as well as t-shirts that read “Bones Knows,” which were a play off the “Bo Knows” campaign in the late-1980s, centered on multi-sport behemoth Bo Jackson.
If Jones signs a deal with Reebok, he’ll become the latest UFC champion to represent the brand. Lightweight champion Anthony Pettis signed a deal with Reebok in June, and welterweight champion Johny Hendricks is also part of the Reebok family.