In the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), one should heed the rules or prepare to be fined and penalized. And that covers even the champions for any of the UFC divisions.
The unlikely person who got fined was UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos for reportedly not wearing the proper Reebok apparel.
Dos Anjos was fined an unspecified amount when he was seen at the UFC on Fox 17 weigh-in sporting an Evolve MMA shirt before tipping the scales. Apparently, the Brazilian champion trains and teach having close ties with owner Chatri Sityodtong.
It seems that the UFC is cracking the whip on fighters who are not abiding by the Athlete Outfitting policy. Aside from dos Anjos, Donald Cerrone and Nate Diaz were reportedly also fined for violating the policy during UFC on Fox 17, according to MMAFighting.com.
Cerrone claims he was fined a bit more than $5,000 for wearing a piece of an American flag, while Diaz said he was hit with a fine as well for wearing jeans at weigh-ins.
The UFC means business when it comes to the policy. Twelve other fighters were reportedly reprimanded for not abiding by the policy. It should be noted as well that such covers also coaches, meaning fighters are not the only ones in the radar when it comes to sporting official Reebok apparel.
Reebok is, apparently, given priority mainly because the fighters get their share of cash when they fight. Champions are paid $40,000 per fight while challengers get $30,000.
Dos Anjos is slated to return to action at UFC 197 where he will be defending his title against weight category newcomer and UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor. Both are scheduled to face off this March 5.
With that fine in mind, dos Anjos and McGregor may want to make sure they abide by the requisites, particularly when they tip the scales in the traditional weigh-ins before the fight.
