Bjorn Rebney: UFC, new owners are bullies – ‘They need a ‘Superman’ punch in the back of the head’

Last week, former Bellator MMA CEO Bjorn Rebney took part in a conference call alongside Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) stars Tim Kennedy, Cain Velasquez, T.J. Dillashaw and Donald Cerrone, as well as former Welterweight champion, Georges St-Pierre, to announce the formation of Mixed Martial Arts Athletes Association (MMAAA).

The association (not a union) aims to fight for the rights of UFC fighters and, more importantly, a bigger piece of the profit pie. Rebney — who claims he will not make decisions on behalf of the group because he is an adviser — today revealed that one of his motivating factors behind the formation of the association is to beat back against two big bullies, UFC and its new WME-IMG owners.

“I hate racists and I hate bullies more than anything on Earth,” Rebney said during a recent edition of “The MMA Hour” via MMA Fighting. “They’re bottom feeders. And WME-IMG and UFC today — that conglomerate — they’re bullies. And it may not be with their hands, but it’s with their money and it’s with their power and it’s with their influence.”

Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, along with Dana White, sold the promotion to WME-IMG earlier this year for a whopping $4 billion, which prompted many fighters to realize that they weren’t getting a fair share of the revenue. As Rebney sees it, however, that sale was not only made possible by the aforementioned trio, but with the blood, sweat and tears of the countless fighters who are getting the short end of the stick.

“That didn’t come from Dana or Lorenzo,” Rebney said. “That came on the backs of fighters who packed the arenas, drove the pay-per-view buy rates, drove the international and domestic television, the sponsorships, the closed circuit, etc., etc. They deserve to get paid what’s fair. And to be able to fight that fight, to be able to be in the middle of that and also to be able to Superman punch bullies in the back of the head, that’s a very attractive proposition for me just given my personality.”

While many applauded the bravery of fighters currently under UFC contract to step up and speak out, they also questioned the involvement of Rebney, who doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to being fighter-friendly. Just ask Eddie Alvarez. That said, Rebney isn’t shocked at the initial reaction. In fact, he anticipated it.

“I expected it,” he said. “I was the second largest mixed martial promoter in the world for a number of years. I didn’t expect people would look at me and go, ‘Oh my god, what a natural transition that is. I didn’t expect people to go, ‘Oh that’s awesome, what a great dude.’ I expected people to go, ‘Ahh, why is he doing this? That guy was part of the problem. Why is he now part of the solution?’ Yeah, I expected that. The good news is the negative vibe has been focused on me, which is exactly where it should be. But, the better news is that the reaction has been big.”

For Rebney — who made out nice after selling Bellator MMA to Viacom — joining MMAAA isn’t about fattening his pockets, but rather those of the athletes, who can possibly secure pension plans and medical insurance, among other things, in the not-so distant future if everything falls into place.

For more on MMAAA’s plans and goals click here and here.

Last week, former Bellator MMA CEO Bjorn Rebney took part in a conference call alongside Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) stars Tim Kennedy, Cain Velasquez, T.J. Dillashaw and Donald Cerrone, as well as former Welterweight champion, Georges St-Pierre, to announce the formation of Mixed Martial Arts Athletes Association (MMAAA).

The association (not a union) aims to fight for the rights of UFC fighters and, more importantly, a bigger piece of the profit pie. Rebney — who claims he will not make decisions on behalf of the group because he is an adviser — today revealed that one of his motivating factors behind the formation of the association is to beat back against two big bullies, UFC and its new WME-IMG owners.

“I hate racists and I hate bullies more than anything on Earth,” Rebney said during a recent edition of “The MMA Hour” via MMA Fighting. “They’re bottom feeders. And WME-IMG and UFC today — that conglomerate — they’re bullies. And it may not be with their hands, but it’s with their money and it’s with their power and it’s with their influence.”

Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, along with Dana White, sold the promotion to WME-IMG earlier this year for a whopping $4 billion, which prompted many fighters to realize that they weren’t getting a fair share of the revenue. As Rebney sees it, however, that sale was not only made possible by the aforementioned trio, but with the blood, sweat and tears of the countless fighters who are getting the short end of the stick.

“That didn’t come from Dana or Lorenzo,” Rebney said. “That came on the backs of fighters who packed the arenas, drove the pay-per-view buy rates, drove the international and domestic television, the sponsorships, the closed circuit, etc., etc. They deserve to get paid what’s fair. And to be able to fight that fight, to be able to be in the middle of that and also to be able to Superman punch bullies in the back of the head, that’s a very attractive proposition for me just given my personality.”

While many applauded the bravery of fighters currently under UFC contract to step up and speak out, they also questioned the involvement of Rebney, who doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to being fighter-friendly. Just ask Eddie Alvarez. That said, Rebney isn’t shocked at the initial reaction. In fact, he anticipated it.

“I expected it,” he said. “I was the second largest mixed martial promoter in the world for a number of years. I didn’t expect people would look at me and go, ‘Oh my god, what a natural transition that is. I didn’t expect people to go, ‘Oh that’s awesome, what a great dude.’ I expected people to go, ‘Ahh, why is he doing this? That guy was part of the problem. Why is he now part of the solution?’ Yeah, I expected that. The good news is the negative vibe has been focused on me, which is exactly where it should be. But, the better news is that the reaction has been big.”

For Rebney — who made out nice after selling Bellator MMA to Viacom — joining MMAAA isn’t about fattening his pockets, but rather those of the athletes, who can possibly secure pension plans and medical insurance, among other things, in the not-so distant future if everything falls into place.

For more on MMAAA’s plans and goals click here and here.