When Jon Jones was announced to have signed a deal with Nike, the MMA sphere was turned on it's ear. The UFC finally had a champion repping the famous swoosh on a large scale. What flew under the radar, is that they already had a champion sporting the brand, in Anderson Silva. Despite the fact that his deal started out as a regional sponsorship, he was officially branded with the logo on his clothing for his last fight. Now, that regional deal has changed, and the UFC has two champions that have global deals with Nike. I recently spoke with Silva's manager, Ed Soares, who addressed the subject. It started off as Nike Brazil, but it has since been made a global deal. I don't think there's another mixed martial arts athlete on the planet that deserves that more than Anderson. He's one of the best athletes out there that fits that mold, the face of Nike. Look at all the people they've sponsored. People have compared Anderson as the Michael Jordan of MMA. The best of the best have always had some sort of affiliation with Nike, and I think the brand fits Anderson better than any other MMA athlete in the world.
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