UFC adds new Companies to the "Banned" list

FiveouncesofPain.com is reporting that the UFC has expanded their list of banned sponsors. The list now includes Dethrone, One More Round, Rolling Stone, Full Tilt Poker, Ultimate Bet and Party Poker. 

There is also word that the UFC is requiring sponsors to pay for the right to sponsor a fighter at a UFC event for a the  low-low price of $100,000. 

One More Round is an interesting choice since that apparel line is associated with Jacob "Stitch" Duran. Apparently cut-men are not allowed to make money outside of the cage. 

Many fighters are dependent on apparel sponsors to supplement their income. Don't think about the big names but the under card fighter who makes $16,000 a fight and fights once a year. Without sponsors they would be in serious financial trouble. By banning certain sponsors the UFC is reducing competition between sponsors and as a result  shrinks the marketplace. Whether this is to force the marketplace to be reflective of sponsors that the UFC has deals with or is an attempt at gaining more control over their fighters and their fighter's revenue sources, is anybody's guess. 

Zach Arnold lays out the case for allowing fighters to make their own deals, 

I know and understand that sports leagues like MLB and the NFL have certain sponsorship deals with companies for uniforms and so forth. However, athletes in these sports are paid full time (seasonal), have benefits, insurance, etc. By going after so many sponsors in the manner that UFC is doing, this is pure divide-and-conquer politics at its worst in terms of being penny-wise and pound-foolish.    

An equivalent sponsorship model in sports could be NASCAR. Each racing team is actually their own company and are responsible for generating their own revenue within the NASCAR family. Each fighter could be looked upon as their own company, or brand, making their own sponsorship deals to generate income. The model has worked for NASCAR so I don't see why it couldn't work for Zuffa.