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LOS ANGELES, Calif. - UFC fighters will wear uniforms made by Reebok next year after the promotion agreed to a sponsorship deal with the sports apparel company.UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta said the six-year deal will change the esthetics and economics of the worlds dominant mixed martial arts promotion by creating a professional, standard look for fighters shorts and additional gear in a famously individualistic sport. The uniforms will be revealed shortly before the fighters don them in July.It elevates the sport, UFC President Dana White said. For everybody to be dressed the same, to look the same, it just makes everything more professional. Every year, we take this thing to another level.The UFC will no longer allow its fighters to sell sponsorship patches on their trunks, a time-honoured tradition in MMA and boxing. White and Fertitta said the new deal largely will make up for the lost revenue, and the fighters still can have sponsorship deals outside the octagon.Fertitta said the promotion is distributing the vast majority of the money from its Reebok deal directly to its fighters, partly in a tiered system based on divisional rankings. White said the UFC itself will make almost no money from the deal for the first few years.Weve done a lot of research in the last two to three years, Fertitta said. We feel like weve created a program thats going to be worth at least as much, and in some cases more, than theyre making (with sponsorships).Some fighters have criticized the prospect of UFC uniforms when the idea was floated by White in recent years, concerned about the interruption of sponsorship deals that sometimes pay the fighters more than their UFC contracts. Other fighters welcome their piece of a major sportswear deal while fighting in uniforms comparable to the gear worn by athletes in the other major sports.I think its good for the UFC brand, welterweight title contender Robbie Lawler told The Associated Press. I think its going to be nice for the fighters to get a little extra money, and I think in the end its going to be a little easier. Were going to be getting some of the sponsorship money that the UFC is already getting. Its going to be big for the sport.Yet the UFC will eliminate many of its fighters current methods of making money in a sport thats notoriously unprofitable for up-and-coming fighters. For instance, the UFC also is doing away with those garish, sometimes amateurish sponsorship banners typically hung behind competitors during MMA fight introductions.It makes me physically sick to my stomach when I see those guys rolling out that banner, but I never stopped it because I didnt want to take money away from guys when I couldnt supplement that money, White said. Now we can give them something better.Fertitta said the UFC could put corporate logos on its uniforms in the future, although the deals probably would be limited to one sponsor at one event.If we do put a company on there, its going to be a major global brand, he said. Think along the lines of European soccer.The UFCs deal with Reebok is its biggest financial agreement outside its television contracts, White said, although the UFC is a private company that is notoriously reluctant to discuss its finances, including fighter pay.Not all individuality will be lost under the deal. Fighters will be free to choose from different styles of uniforms, from the board shorts worn by many fighters to the tighter bicycle shorts favoured by former welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre and others. Women will have the option of wearing shorts with a skirt front.UFC executives have chafed in recent years when its fighters uniform misadventures reflected negatively on a company pursuing a more polished, professional image in line with its Fox broadcast deal and increased international presence.Welterweight Dennis Hallman became a viral sensation — and not in a good way — after wearing incredibly skimpy blue shorts at UFC 133 in August 2011, briefly exposing himself during a first-round loss to Brian Ebersole. Hallman claimed he lost a bet.At a Fox show in Sacramento last December, lightweight Cody McKenzie wore plain white basketball shorts with the tags still attached and a Nike logo crudely drawn on the leg. 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Emmanuel Kone pulled one back in the 80th and Levadiakos missed several chances to level in the last 10 minutes.NEW YORK -- CC Sabathia is disappointed and relieved all at the same time. Sidelined with a right knee injury, the New York Yankees pitcher spoke to reporters Saturday morning for the first time since the team announced he will have season-ending surgery Wednesday. Sabathia said the news was difficult to absorb and his situation is "not fun." But hes glad doctors recommended an arthroscopic cleanup rather than microfracture surgery, which would have required perhaps an 18-month recovery. "Its tough. Its unfortunate," Sabathia said. "But I feel, I guess, relieved that I have some answers, and kind of a plan in place to kind of move forward." The big left-hander, who turns 34 on Monday, said hes confident he will be back on the mound in spring training. And with a blueprint now in place for his return, he said he was able to get "some real sleep" Friday night for the first time in weeks. General manager Brian Cashman, however, cautioned Friday that theres no guarantee Sabathia will be able to pitch effectively next season. The operation will be performed by Los Angeles Dodgers head physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache. Sabathia said he was told he can resume baseball activities six to eight weeks after the procedure. "He feels good about it, and I do, too," Sabathia said, adding that NBA star Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder had the same surgery and came back fine. "Obviously, youve got to deal with a little bit of swelling here and there, but its something I have to do. My goal in talking to (Dr. ElAttrache) was to pitch the next five, six years and past this contract and be able to go out and do that. So Im confident in that idea." Sabathia also had surgery on his right knee in October 2010 to repair a small meniscus cartilage tear..ddddddddddddHe said he thinks the latest injury was caused by simple wear and tear. "Its something that Im going to have to deal with probably for the rest of my life and eventually have a big surgery, but right now the goal is to keep playing, and this is the easiest way," he said. Sabathia has been sidelined with a degenerative cartilage problem in his right knee since mid-May, and the Yankees all but ruled out a 2014 return after he had a setback early this month while on a minor league rehab assignment. He was hit hard July 2 in an outing for Double-A Trenton and woke up the next morning with swelling in the joint. The six-time All-Star and 2007 AL Cy Young Award winner made only eight major league starts this year and finished 3-4 with a career-worst 5.28 ERA. He is 208-119 with a 3.63 ERA in 14 seasons. After signing a $161 million, seven-year deal with New York as a free agent before the 2009 season, Sabathia had his contract extended in 2011 by one year and $30 million. Making $23 million this season, Sabathia is scheduled to earn $23 million in 2015 and $25 million in 2016. The Yankees have a $25 million option for 2017 with a $5 million buyout. Despite his 6-foot-7, 285-pound frame, Sabathia had been extremely durable until this year. He had made at least 28 starts and pitched 180 innings or more every season of his career, reaching 200 innings eight times. "Its something that Ive never had to deal with. But I am now, and like I said, hopefully this will give me the time to heal and get healthy and come back to be ready to go in spring training," Sabathia said. "If thats the case, and thats the best-case scenario, especially at my age and with everything thats happened and all the innings that Ive pitched and everything, I guess Im fine with that." ' ' '