Dana White Plans to Create Custom UFC Belts for Mexican Champions
UFC President Dana White has plans to have custom UFC belts designed for Mexican UFC champions. White unveiled his plans during an interview with Complex on July 3, where he discussed his extensive sneaker collection.
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One sneaker in particular was pointed out by interviewer Joe La Puma, a custom Jordan 1 by a Mexican artist which White didn't name:
UFC President Dana White's custom Mexican designed Jordan 1
"So there's a guy down in Mexico, that does this [custom design] and wants to do [UFC] belts. I have three Mexican world champions right now."
White refers to women's flyweight champion Alexa Grasso, flyweight champion Brandon Moreno, and interim featherweight champion Yair Rodriguez.
"What [the artist wants] to do is, they want to customize the belts, take our belts and paint them... the Mexican flag and all --- he has all these cool concepts for the belts --- and I'm actually going to do it.
"So these fighters would have a one-of-one custom Mexican championship belt."
Yair Rodriguez' Reveals Custom UFC Interim Title
It looks as though interim featherweight champion Rodriguez has already had his belt customized. Rodriguez showcased his title in an Instagram video on July 3:
White never revealed the name of the artist behind his sneakers, but the artists responsible for Rodriguez' belt are Jacobo & María Ángeles, who primarily work with wood carved Zapotec figures, and are based in San Martin Tilcajete, Mexico.
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The concept of a custom belt is an excellent means to honor a fighter's heritage while also providing significant endorsement and global recognition to local artists. Hopefully we can see more of this happening in the future, and it's especially likely as other champions will want their belts customized too.
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