UFC light-heavyweight champion today fulfilled a long-time ambition when he signed a multi-year sponsorship deal with Nike.
The deal will see Jones get his own signature clothing line, and he’ll also appear in Nike’s worldwide advertising campaigns in the future.
Jones isn’t the first UFC star to sign with Nike – Anderson Silva and Yoshihiro Akiyama also have been endorsed by the market leading brand, but while they were signed on the basis of their regional appeal in Brazil and Japan respectively, Jones is the first to targeted to have a global impact.
The 25 year-old is an obvious choice for such a deal. Despite his relatively young age he’s already considered one of the top three pound-for-pound fighters in the world with a 16-1 career record that includes three successful title defenses, and has grown to become a genuine pay-per-view draw while also having the looks and personality to be marketable outside of the Octagon too.
Jones ‘clean cut’ image came under threat earlier in the year though when he was found guilty of drink driving in New York, but that appears not to have put Nike off, and with the best years of his career more than likely still ahead of him it could prove to be a shrewd piece of business by them to sign up the fighter who could be the face of the sport for year’s to come.
With the deal secured Jones can now focus his full attention on his next title defense against Dan Henderson which will take place at UFC 151 on September 1st in Las Vegas.
