More name fighters are taking a chance on free agency than any time since the dark ages of the UFC. Now, several name fighters that made the jump from the UFC to Bellator are speaking out about why.
What is there to complain about? That’s the big question that fighters are answering in the ongoing battle between Bellator and the UFC over free agent talents. As always, the UFC is winning that war. They have more resources, bigger platforms, more fighters, more prestige, and the lure of bigger paychecks at the top. But now more than ever (or at least since the dark days of the late 90’s, when the UFC was bleeding talent) fighters are out testing free agency to see if they can get a better deal than what the UFC has to offer.
And it appears that at least a few of them have. Mike Chiappetta over at Bleacher Report spoke to Matt Mitrione, Josh Thomson, and Benson Henderson to get their thoughts on why a move out of the UFC and over to Bellator made sense. Mitrione laid out the groundwork of his argument with his thoughts on the seeming lack of interest from fighters in putting business first:
“Some people are so brainwashed,” Mitrione said. “They say, ‘How dare you think about business like that?’ If you cite money, you’re a greedy pig. If you cite anything else, you’re a scared p—y. It’s crazy. The thing is, the UFC has become bigger than the sport, and what’s bad about that is so many people want to be in the UFC that everyone else is an afterthought. There are guys in smaller organizations that their only goal is ‘I want to go to the UFC.’ And I’ll tell them there might be more money in another place. And they’ll say, ‘It doesn’t really matter. That’s my goal.’ But once people get to the UFC, they might get the disenchantment of what’s going on. If you’re a veteran in the UFC, you’ll see it.”
Benson Henderson gave his insights on why the promise of “Fight of the Night,” or various other locker room incentives, in place of a better salary became a major sticking point with him in his decision to move on:
“When you talk about backroom bonuses and discretionary bonuses, they’re awesome, they’re cool, but it’s not a steady salary, it’s not promised,” Henderson told Bleacher Report. “Some guys never get a bonus. It’s all at the whim of the higher-ups. And you shouldn’t have a problem paying your mortgage because of the whim of the higher-ups, because they didn’t feel your fight was worthy of a bonus.
“That struck me as wrong. It’s not right at all. Fighters are professional athletes. As much as we sacrifice, we shouldn’t have to live hoping that we get a bonus, hoping that we did enough to impress them.”
And Josh Thomson made his feelings clear about what it was like to work with the UFC, or more specifically, that he never really felt like he was able to do so.
“I couldn’t tell you what it was like to do business with the UFC, because there never was a business side of it as far as, there is no negotiation,” Thomson said. “There were times we’ve heard there’s talks and negotiations, but you really don’t need a manager because, ‘This is the deal you’re going to get.’ There’s been talks like, ‘Sure, you can negotiate for an extra two or three grand, but don’t expect to get any backroom bonuses.’ So then you question, is it really even worth negotiating that extra two or three grand?”
There’s a lot more in the interview, including Henderson’s claims that the UFC wouldn’t let him fight out his WEC contract to renegotiate for a better UFC deal, and Mitrione’s thoughts on maximizing his value as a fighter while he still has time to fight. So, check the whole thing out, it’s a rare and comprehensive look at fighters who left the UFC on their own terms.
Obviously, on the other side of the fence there are free agents re-signing too. Alistair Overeem recently re-upped his UFC deal, and it sounds like his proximity to a heavyweight title shot was a key factor in staying put. Aljamain Sterling chose to stick with the UFC as well, when it came down to a bidding war between Zuffa and the WSOF. And of course, Rampage Jackson has been notably changeable in his desire to fight either for Bellator or for the UFC. Currently the former UFC light heavyweight champ is under contract with Bellator under a two fight deal, without matching rights, 30 days after which he’ll be back on the open market again.
In any case, this looks to be a long-term battle over veteran talent between the two promotions. So stay tuned for all the news and updates on upcoming potential free agents, especially with Rory MacDonald about to hit the market.