A much ballyhooed press conference took place on Wednesday afternoon, and it didn’t take long to parse out the intentions of those in attendance.
Talks of a fighter’s union in MMA has gone through numerous iterations over the years, but 2016 was a decidedly big year with the addition of the Professional Fighter’s Association (PFA). However, a leak of names forced women’s bantamweight Leslie Smith and labor lawyer Lucas Middlebrook broke from the PFA (h/t Marc Raimondi of MMA Fighting).
Wednesday, another player came to the forefront with outspoken fighters and the backing of some very interesting characters.
UFC middleweight contender Tim Kennedy was the first to speak at the press conference.
MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani tweeted Kennedy’s words about this not just being about today’s fighters but also past fighters who have endured a career’s worth of punishment.
Damon Martin of Fox Sports reports the official new name of the endeavor that was released at the presser.
After Kennedy, GSP took to the stage. The former welterweight kingpin said he feels the UFC will villify him and brought up the current leading star — Conor McGregor.
And here is the first official tweet from the new fighter’s association:
Other fighters at the press conference, Donald Cerrone, TJ Dillashaw and Cain Velasquez spoke about the new association as well as their struggles under the current system.
Sport Illustrated’s Mike Dyce showcased former Bellator figurehead Bjorn Rebney’s pointed remarks concerning WME-IMG, the new owners of the UFC.
Although B/R’s own Jonathan Snowden points out the dangers in believing what Rebney says given his history in the space.
B/R’s Patrick Wyman also points out that his nefarious dealings also gives him great insight into fixing the problems fighters face today.
Rebney then dropped the magic word during his time on the mic at the press conference.
Kennedy also gave insight into how the fighter’s association is currently structured.
The fighters know they are taking a risk. Not only did GSP admit he thinks the UFC will see him as the bad guy, but Dillashaw spoke that he is fearful of repercussions as well.
In response to SI’s Mike Dyce, labor lawyer Lucas Middlebrook spoke to the current position the new association is in without being certified. The UFC has no obligation to sit with them currently.
Snowden is not the only veteran reporter questioning Rebney. MMA Fighting’s Luke Thomas had an observation of Rebney as well.
The always outspoken Ben Askren, ONE FC’s welterweight champion, thinks it makes sense for the association to be organization specific and not industry-focused.
Other fighters took to the Twittersphere to share their thoughts.
Are the Fertitta’s geniuses for selling the UFC when they did?
Hey, GSP, what about that McGregor fellow?
Bleacher Report will continuously update the story as the press conference continues.
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