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Blue chip UFC sponsor Monster Energy on Monday said the company is looking into allegations by Dominick Cruz that Hans Molenkamp, a business development rep with the energy drink company, took advantage of his position with fighters for personal benefit.
“We take any such allegations seriously and are looking into it at this time,” a Monster spokesperson wrote to MMA Fighting. No further details were offered.
Cruz, a former bantamweight champion, used his post-win speech at UFC 259 to call for a charity fight with Molenkamp, a longtime MMA supporter and practitioner who’s served as a link between the sport and Monster sponsorships for over one decade. The former bantamweight champion alleged Molenkamp tied individual sponsorships to personal social media posts and interviews. He said there were others who’d made similar complaints, including UFC President Dana White.
Monster Energy investigating Dominick Cruz’s allegations against Hans Molenkamp after UFC 259
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Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Shortly after his first win in almost five years, Dominick Cruz surprisingly used his time in the spotlight at UFC 259 for a seemingly random callout relating to his sponsorship rep. He put Hans Molenkamp on blast and called for a charity fight, claiming that the business development representative of Monster Energy was using his position for personal gain.
Monster has been a blue chip sponsor of the UFC, and also has had separate deals with many other prominent fighters such as Conor McGregor and Jon Jones. The former bantamweight champion alleged that Molenkamp forces fighters to give him “clout” by posing for photos, and keep commenting and liking posts on his personal social media accounts.
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Esther Lin, MMA Fighting
“The Venezuelan Vixen” is none too pleased with Amanda Nunes right now.
On Saturday night, Nunes successfully defended her featherweight championship with a first-round drubbing of Megan Anderson. After the win, the question quickly turned to what would be next for the greatest female fighter of all-time as Nunes and the answer came in the form of Julianna Peña.
Peña is currently the sixth-ranked bantamweight in the world and was set to face Holly Holm at a Fight Night event on May 8. However, it was recently revealed that Holm would be forced to withdraw from that scheduled date, and following Nunes’ win, Peña called for a bantamweight title shot instead, something UFC President Dana White seemed amenable too. Unfortunately for Peña, Nunes was less enthused, saying she believed Peña needed another win to warrant a title shot. It was a response that Peña finds “ridiculous.”