Urijah Faber's peak in the cage may have come five years too early to cash in on what's probably going to be a merchandising explosion in the coming years around mixed martial arts, but that doesn't mean the 31-year-old fighter is standing pat. Faber's Form Athletics, a wholly-owned subsidiary of K-Swiss, sees the future and his name is Jon Jones.
Jones, 23, just moved to 12-1 with a dominant win over Ryan Bader at UFC 126. After the fight, he was given an immediate title shot. If the kid takes the belt from Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, he launches himself into a different stratosphere. That means a lot eyes on him and dollars available from rabid MMA fans.
"Jon is an elite athlete with an incredible training regime," said David Nichols, executive vice president of K-Swiss. "His input will be valuable in developing new footwear, and his notoriety in his sport and great personality will fit well with the K-Swiss athlete roster. We are extremely excited about working with Jon, and look forward to a bright future with him as part of the K-Swiss family."
With the help of Form, Jones already has Tom Brady beat on style in the form of his personalized "Bones" hat.
MMAFix found this video/commercial shot in Las Vegas featuring Faber and Jones along with Scott Jorgensen, Mark Munoz, Joe Benavidez and former UFC Octagon girl Natasha Wicks.
Faber's excited to have Jones on board as he looks to build an empire moving into the backhalf of his MMA career. With his jump from WEC to UFC, the timing was right for Form.
"This sport's so new and there's a lot of things that needed to happen," Faber told Versus' Ariel Helwani (7:24 mark). "I think it's just being a leader and opportunities happen like that."
Faber may be the biggest beneficiary of WEC being folded into the UFC. Whether he gets the UFC bantamweight title or not, he's going to be heavily marketed. He's already shown crossover appeal with his Amp and K-Swiss Kenny Powers' commercial. He's a smart guy, who's insuring his future isn't solely determined by what he does in the cage.Molly Sims Monika Kramlik Lacey Chabert Amber Brkich Gretha Cavazzoni
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