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One Week Later, The MMAAA Is Already One Big Mess

One week ago today (Wed., November 30, 2016) a group of UFC fighters lead by Georges St-Pierre and Bellator founder Bjorn Rebney unveiled the formation of the aptly-named Mixed Martial Arts Athletes Association (MMAAA) in an effort to secure UFC athletes the compensation and treatment they deserve for putting their livelihoods and wellbeing on the line

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One week ago today (Wed., November 30, 2016) a group of UFC fighters lead by Georges St-Pierre and Bellator founder Bjorn Rebney unveiled the formation of the aptly-named Mixed Martial Arts Athletes Association (MMAAA) in an effort to secure UFC athletes the compensation and treatment they deserve for putting their livelihoods and wellbeing on the line each time out to the Octagon.

The association, which is the third of its kind and also includes well-known UFC fighters Donald Cerrone, Cain Velasquez, TJ Dillashaw, and Tim Kennedy on their initial five-fighter board, certainly had the best of intentions during a nearly two-hour press conference which revealed their intent to bring the supposedly evil business practices of new UFC owners WME-IMG to a screeching halt. On paper, it was certainly just what the sport needed, as anti-UFC sentiment has reached an all-time high among both athletes and fans.

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However, in the one week since the announcement, I’d argue that things couldn’t have gone much worse for the newly-founded association. It starts with the issue of just where the funding for the association is from, which Rebney essentially brushed off even in the face of accusations that the MMAAA was simply an anti-WME venture funded by CAA, WME-IMG’s direct competitor who, interestingly enough, also represents all of the fighters on the initial board except Cerrone.

On top of those unknown but certainly valid questions, Rebney received a cease-and-desist order from the legal team of the class action lawsuit headed by Cung Le, Jon Fitch, and others against the UFC, which he vehemently denied he would accept in a confrontational manner.

That only served to further the apprehension and doubt about Rebney’s involvement in the entire project. He’s never been the most trusted of promoters, but he was supposedly brought on in a purely advisory role. He’s always had a bone to pick with the UFC, and he only reaffirmed that notion when he outright blasted them to Ariel Helwani on ‘The MMA Hour’ this week. That style was in turn denounced by flagship MMAAA fighter board rep Kennedy in an interview with MMA Fighting:

Rebeny’s involvement and strategy of calling out the UFC may be questionable but the wheels have truly fallen off of the MMAAA’s initial efforts based on the reactions of the fighters involved, the people who truly matter most in this instance. Kennedy’s callout of Rebney is one thing that doesn’t exactly paint a picture of happiness amongst the ranks, but the latest news about Cerrone and St-Pierre is even more concerning.

First, UFC President Dana White was heard spouting off at the MMAAA in a predictably-worded outcry on the UFC Unfiltered podcast, basically a public forum for any and all things White wants to scream and yell about with no repercussion. While that behavior is no doubt a major reason why there is need for an association like the MMAAA, it seems he took it to an all-new level, even for himself. In the outburst, White blasted Cerrone, who has saved multiple cards with his fight-anyone-at-anytime mentality, for only headlining three Fight Night cards his entire career and scolded him for a time when he paid $100,000 of his legal fees for a run-in with an angry boater.

It was a new low for White (or maybe there simply is no such thing anymore), but the subsequent response from ‘Cowboy’ showed just why the MMAAA might not accomplish much. Fighting Matt Brown in the co-main event of Saturday night’s UFC 206 from Toronto, Cerrone said he ‘didn’t know he was on a board’ and that White had ‘saved his ass’ so he should have called him and told him what he was doing in an interview after the open workouts.

Those words only tell me one thing, that Cerrone didn’t know what he was getting himself into. He admitted he was scared but would fight for what was right and stand up for fighters, even recently offering his name as the head of a fighters’ union. However, he clearly didn’t think things through. And if the MMAAA didn’t tell him he was on a board of fighters representing them, well, this thing is a bigger mess than I think it is, and that’s saying something.

But back to Cerrone. He clearly wants to be paid what he’s worth, and seems willing enough to fight for it. He simply has to be all-in for one side, however. You can’t have both in this instance. Either you’re with the MMAAA or against them, because it’s clear White will say anything about anyone to drag their name on the ground, no matter what you may have done for him or the company in the past. Saying you didn’t know what you were getting yourself into makes you look uneducated and fleeting; like you’re playing both sides of the fence because you can’t make up your mind. That’s the kind of attitude that is going to halt the MMAAA’s efforts in their tracks before it even has a chance to get the ball rolling.

That’s both confusing and concerning at the same time, and even more evidence surfaced this morning that the fighters involved may be softening their stance after speaking with the UFC. News arrived that St-Pierre and his legal advisors had resumed talks with the UFC in an effort to finally sign him and get him back in the Octagon. That’s good for fans, yes, but the UFC and WME seemed to want little to do with St-Pierre and his demands before he unveiled his involvement with the MMAAA. The fact they wouldn’t meet him in the middle was most likely one of the biggest motivating factors in his decision to join the association.

So he plays a little hardball with his involvement in the MMAAA, and all of the sudden, they want to talk. Predictable. And what’s more, he’s willing. That’s fine, and he should be able to come back to fighting if he so desires. But reaching an amicable agreement while at the same time fighting the UFC head-on doesn’t seem like a dynamic that will work effectively, so like Cerrone, St-Pierre will have to decide where his allegiances lie. It’s an unfortunate byproduct of coming out and publicly stating you’re waging war on the UFC’s business practices.

Is it fair? Maybe not, but it’s the name of the game right now. And based on how the two most famous fighters involved with MMAAA have responded to the UFC’s inevitable initial backlash, the association doesn’t look like it’s going to go anywhere if they refuse to throw down in the fight they were all boasting of during last week’s conference.

The MMAAA obviously needs some time to implement their efforts and bring more and more fighters to their side, but this wishy-washy gameplan just makes them look like they rushed into the entire thing without looking ahead to the inevitable ramifications. And at the heart of it all, an ‘association’ isn’t going to work with the fighters backtracking and fighting amongst each other only one week after the endeavor was announced.

Let’s hope they can prove me wrong.

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Donald Cerrone: Dana White Saved My A**, I Should Have Called Him

Last week former Bellator President and CEO Bjorn Rebney and five of the UFC’s biggest stars in mixed martial arts (MMA) today, including No. 5-ranked welterweight Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone, announced the formation of the Mixed Martial Arts Athletes Association (MMAAA), in effort to fight for better working conditions for fighters in the UFC. The announcement comes

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The announcement comes at the horizon of ‘Cowboy’s’ scheduled meeting with Matt Brown at this weekend’s (Saturday December 10, 2016) UFC 206 pay-per-view (PPV) event from Toronto, as Cerrone is on an impressive three-fight finishing streak since making the jump up to 170 pounds.

During a recent media scrum after the open workouts at Massey Hall earlier today (Wednesday December 7, 2016), courtesy of MMA Fighting, Cerrone stated that he didn’t know he was sitting on a board when he accepted the invitation from Georges St-Pierre and Tim Kennedy to be a part of the MMAAA:

“As far as the Association goes man, Georges [St-Pierre] and Tim [Kennedy] called me and asked me to be part of it,” Cerrone said. “I didn’t know I was sitting on a board. That kind of took me by surprise, sitting there like, oh wow. I spoke to Dana [White] today on the phone. He’s coming to town, and we’re going to go out to dinner and talk. There’s a lot of things I think this sport needs, you know, retirement pension, health care, things I think we need.”

Cerrone still plans to stand beside his MMAAA brethren and fight for better work accommodations from the UFC such as health care and retirement pension. Despite this, ‘Cowboy’ claims that he and the UFC’s relationship is still a great one and that he is on good terms with UFC President Dana White who he revealed at one point paid for ‘the best lawyers you can pay’ and got him out of a ‘bind’ he found himself in:

“I wasn’t sitting there saying, ‘we’re moving forward today, we’re going on strike, we need more money,” he said. “That wasn’t coming out of mouth at all. There were a couple of people that were there that I don’t plan on working with and being a part of, not mentioning any names. I was there mostly just, not saying I’m leading a board or I’m sitting on a board, but more voicing my opinion of what this sport needs.

“Moving forward, I’m still going to stand strong with those and say this is what I believe we need. I believe as a whole we need health care, we need some kind of pension for retirement. The UFC has been nothing but great to me. I can’t complain, they give me what I want. And like Dana said, I called him and he helped me out. That’s true, man. I was in a bind, he got the best lawyers you can pay, and saved my ass.”

‘Cowboy’ says he has spoken to White since the announcement of the MMAAA was made public, and that the UFC President wishes he would have called him first instead of being ‘back-handed in the face’ by the announcement out of left field:

“He said, listen kid, you can do anything you want. We have a good relationship him and I, and he’s right I probably should have called him and said, ‘hey man, I’m going to do this,’ instead of getting back-handed in the face.”

For now Cerrone’s focus will be set on Brown for their co-main event collision this weekend, which could have title implications if the dominoes fall down correctly, and will resume his fight alongside the MMAAA afterwards.

Cerrone and Brown will meet in the co-main event of UFC 206 live on pay-per-view (PPV), from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada this Saturday (December 10, 2016).

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Former Bellator Boss Wants To Superman Punch New UFC Owners

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Since the sale of the UFC for a whopping $4.2 billion to WME-IMG, fighter treatment has been magnified further. As high-ranking fighters either jump ship, or take a stand against allegedly unfair payment or treatment by their employers, many questions have been raised. By no means a new issue, the working conditions of the employees under the UFC banner is now hotter than ever. After 16 years of the new UFC era, perhaps we are now seeing a reboot and the beginning of the second phase.

Following the announcement of the MMAAA (mixed martial arts athletes association) many feel the winds of change are coming. Helping that potentially powerful gust come around are a number of well-known current fighters. Ex-champions TJ Dillashaw, Cain Velasquez and Georges St-Pierre, as well as Donald Cerrone and Tim Kennedy lead the association. Also fronting the march on the ‘tyranny’ of the UFC is ex-Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney.

Rebney Hates Bullies

As the former boss of the UFC’s biggest rival, Bellator MMA, Bjorn Rebney has heard and witnessed first hand the complaints of former UFC talent. Arguably the biggest harvester of jilted UFC fighters, Bellator now houses numerous ex-champions from the premier organisation. Speaking during his recent appearance on The MMA Hour, Rebney said he’s sick of seeing the UFC bully the hard-working fighters. Transcription by Marc Raimondi:

“I hate racists and I hate bullies more than anything on Earth,” Rebney said. “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.”

“That ($4.2 billion) 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 sponsorship, 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.”

Backlash

Although he is now helping fighters in their battle with the UFC, Rebney is facing some backlash. Jon Jones’ manager said he was not interested in joining the MMAAA if Rebney was involved, calling the ex-Bellator man ‘anti-fighter.’ Rebney said this kind of negative feedback comes as no surprise:

“I expected it,” Rebney 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,’” Rebney said “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.”

“No Aftercare”

“There’s nothing in place and this is the most violent sport on the face of the Earth,” Rebney said. “The repercussions for a mixed martial artist far surpass those from hockey or football or, for god sakes, even boxing. Even boxing. And boxing has got a real ugly progressive step for its athletes. And you’ve got nothing in place? No.”

“I see what happens to combat sports athletes when they’re 35 and 40 and 45,” he said. “And it’s frightening. Not for everybody, but for a lot of these guys that evolution is a very, very scary evolution.”

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Bjorn Rebney & MMAAA Have Everything In Place For ‘Fight’ With UFC

Former Bellator MMA Founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney has aligned himself with top UFC stars Georges St-Pierre, Tim Kennedy, Cain Velasquez, Donal ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone, and TJ Dillashaw to form the Mixed Martial Arts Athletes Association (MMAAA) in an effort to fight for fair rights for fighters who compete in the UFC. Last week a near two hour

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Last week a near two hour conference call was held by Rebney and the fighters to discuss the formation of the new Association and let everyone know what exactly they’re all about. Earlier today (Monday, Dec. 5, 2016) Rebney joined Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour to further discuss his role with the association, first detailing what the first step in the whole process was to get the ball rolling on the MMAAA:

“The first step in the whole process basically — and I don’t want to sing my own praises but I have a lot of experience in this space in another sport, another business, another law surrounding the business — I know the athletes, and about two years ago, probably four and a half or five months, maybe not even that long, after Tim and I had split from Bellator, I was asked by some really smart people who I have enormous respect for to basically create a plan of attack. A plan of attack to force to UFC to completely reverse its outrageous and despicable treatment of its athletes.

“So at that stage, and I was working on some other cool stuff I was working on a great tech venture and an OTT project and some really cool stuff that was unrelated to all the time I spent in combat sports, but I started really digging. The first step for someone like me when you start digging is you do an enormous amount of due diligence, fortunately and thank god I could step back and do a lot of due diligence cause I had the time and wherewithal and the access points to understand the numbers, because we’d all heard it for years. Now you’d heard it, you’d talked about it, we’d all heard it as a promoter who’d done pay-per-view (PPV) and cut deals in 140 countries around the world, etc.”

While Rebney was the frontman at Bellator MMA, he couldn’t really focus on the big picture of what he is fighting for now, as he was more focused on the competitive aspect of beating the UFC. Now that he and the promotion have parted ways, he is able to see the ‘despicable’ nature which the UFC is treating its fighters, so he said he’ll do everything in his power to put a stop to it:

“You hear about it, but you don’t hyper-focus on it because you’re not trying to build a company or promotion that’s trying to compete with the UFC. So I wasn’t sitting there saying to myself ‘Okay, I need to know backward and forward every UFC number and the dynamics and the percentages of what they’re doing and what they’re not. I was more engaged of the competitive aspect of ‘What do we do next to try and take a step up this ladder’, but as you start diving into it and as you start looking at the numbers two plus years ago,

“I thought ‘Okay, well, this is insane, it’s unethical, it’s outrageous, it’s despicable, If you know the sport, you know what happens long-term. Its got wrongful on it in so many different ways, then I said ‘Okay screw it.’ To do this, and to do it right, for the people who’d reached out to me, first of all you got get some of the biggest names in the space of the UFC to step up.”

Having such huge names such as GSP, Velasquez, ‘Cowboy’, Kennedy, and Dillashaw is certainly a plus for the MMAAA’s fighting chance to make some serious change between fighters and the UFC. That change won’t come quickly, and it’s something Rebney says he has been in conversations with St-Pierre to form the MMAAA for years:

“We’re fortunate enough to have Georges, and Tim, and Cain, and ‘Cowboy’, and TJ onboard. And I started talking, I started talking to Georges, years ago, and Tim — and I don’t remember how long ago cause it was so very very long ago, and you secure that. You secure their understanding, you secure the relationship with Georges, Tim, TJ, and Cain, and you sit down and say ‘Here is what’s at stake, here’s what’s going on, here’s how the other leagues work, here’s how a real sports enterprise is supposed to function.’

“And you get them to understand it very clearly, and then you figure out ‘Are they going to be willing to engage? Are guys at that level with those type of names going to be willing to put themselves out to say that this matters and this is important?’

Rebney also pointed to hiring the best legal teams, PR firms, and marketing teams also play a huge factor in one day reaching their ultimate goal:

“Then you have to have legal backing, so you find the greatest attorney literally in this type of legal matter and it’s Jim Quinn. Who has written the book on sports related matters, representing athletes, representing athletes associations, he is responsible for creating and crafting law that governs how the NFL does business. I’m like, ‘Can you get Jim Quinn onboard?’

“And then you go out and you get strategic PR firms to handle both general market and sports related, then you get a team of marketing specialists onboard, then you get key strategic advisors onboard, a whole meeting after meeting after meeting after meeting, and you get money behind it because a fight like this is not a fight like you just send out a few Tweets and say ‘Wow this is really important, let’s get it done.’ You’ve gotta have real support behind it.”

St-Pierre, Velasquez, Kennedy, Cerrone, and Dillashaw aren’t the only fighters apparently on board with the MMAAA. Rebney says there are a whole lot more people involved with the movement, however, they have asked to remain nameless for the time being:

“The people who came to me initially, they have asked to remain nameless Ariel, I said it on the thing and I’m going to respect that. Guaranteed on my eyes there will be a time, without any question, where I am able to introduce them, they will be proud as crap when I can introduce them because — I did not sit back and say ‘This situation is a disaster, I wanna fix it. Who do I put in place?’ People came to me and said ‘This situation is a disaster.’ As I used to say a ‘cluster f*ck’.

Rebney strongly believes that if the sport of MMA continues down the road it is currently on at the moment, it will not survive without any short-term or long-term protection for its fighters:

“And somebody has to fix it, somebody has to make this right because as TJ and I said when we were at the press conference, I don’t remember if he said it first or I said it first, but we both said basically the same thing. If this doesn’t get fixed, we don’t have a sport in ten years. There is no possible way that mixed martial arts (MMA) can continue down this trajectory, and survive. It can’t. And that’s not hyperbole, that’s not a threat, that’s not me sending out a message to Ari Emanuel, that’s the God’s honest truth.

“It will not survive. It has to change. You ask these guys to give up that kind of sacrifice, to give up what these guys are giving up long and short, short-term and long-term, you have to have protections in place. You gotta have pensions post-career, health care, etc. You put that in place, and once those things are in place, you know building something like this out is not just about filing a law suit, it’s not just about making some plans to go visit guys in gyms and talk about the issues, it’s about a legitimate strategy.

While Rebney has equipped himself well for a fight against the big guys at the UFC, he knows he’s in for quite the challenge going up against WME-IMG and the UFC who have a joint $10 billion worth between them, but feels he has executed his strategy perfectly up to this point:

“WME-IMG is a $6 billion company. They are one of the two most powerful agencies in the entire world across the sports and entertainment spectrum. They’re a huge, monstrous, powerful conglomerate. The UFC is now a $4 billion enterprise. Between WME-IMG you’re talking about 500,000 plus employees, monster power, monster influence. You gotta be ready to put a strategy in place. You’re gonna fight somebody like that?

“That’s not jumping out of the seat at a smoker somewhere at going ‘screw it my training went well for the last week I’ll jump in when somebody bounces out of a fight.’ You gotta be prepared. You have to have everything conceivable in place. The backing, the support, the people, the brains, all of it. And that’s what I charged myself with organizing and putting together. And it’s in place.”

With some big names involved and some of the best lawyers, PR firms and marketing specialists already onboard with the MMAAA the future for the association is looking rather bright. How do you believe they’ll fare in their battle against the UFC?

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MMAAA Promises Change, But How Soon Will It Be Effective?

This past Wednesday (November 30, 2016), the Mixed Martial Arts Athletes Association announced its formation. The board is comprised of UFC fighters Georges St. Pierre, Tim Kennedy, Cain Velasquez, TJ Dillashaw, and Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone, along with notable advisor Bjorn Rebney. First of all, let me say that those on the board are brave to

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First of all, let me say that those on the board are brave to take this step. Openly forming an association that will seek, among other things but most prominently, more money from the UFC is dangerous for anyone under contract. The new owners at WME-IMG could schedule them in intentionally unfavorable matchups, decline to give them bonus money, or make life miserable at the bargaining table, if not choosing to release them outright.

Fans and pundits have called for a fighters’ union or association for years now. The low pay across the board, from champions not making near what average athletes in other sports make, to professional fighters in the pinnacle organization of the sport having to work a day job just to make end’s meet, was one major factor. As a private company, the UFC could withhold the full scale of its revenue and claim to be paying their “independent contractors” any percentage they wanted. Now that the UFC has sold for over $4 billion, the paychecks seem laughable, to the fighters now as much as anyone. The god-awful Reebok deal and draconian drug testing policies – which the fighters had no say in whatsoever – were other major reasons for this happening now.

Perhaps some fighters for years wanted this, but the risk was too great for those few who wanted to take that step. Not enough of them cared enough to throw their support behind it. Still today, fighters in interviews talk about fighting “whoever the UFC puts in front of me” and some variation of “My job is to fight. Other people can worry about the business side of things.” That attitude is taking money directly out of their own pockets and handing it over to the UFC brass.

Media who discussed the possibility of a union often cited the need for an indispensable star to take the lead, somebody the UFC couldn’t just bully or ignore and somebody other fighters would flock to. Enter GSP.

The other four mixed martial artists on the board are top fighters in their divisions, but none of them is capable of putting up the kind of numbers ‘Rush’ would be sure to do if he manages to fight a few more times. With Conor McGregor, Jon Jones, and Ronda Rousey’s futures in the sport up in the air, the UFC needs St. Pierre more than he needs them at this point.

It is looking more and more like the UFC made a serious mistake in mistreating St. Pierre toward the end of his title reign and not budging in their negotiations for his return. Maybe the announcement of the MMAAA would have come anyway. But now they have a big-time moneymaker openly opposing them and trying to erode the ownership’s long-standing leverage instead of, you know, making them money. He can stand firm without risking his roster spot or that he won’t get a title shot. And he is universally respected among fans and fighters, just the sort of person writers have asserted would be necessary to the success of a fighters’ union or association.

Now that it seems a viable fighters’ association has formed, there are already myriad issues to work through and problems to solve.

First, the MMAAA needs the backing of a significant portion of the roster. For the Association to have any bargaining power, it must prove that it does, in fact, represent the fighters. This doesn’t seem like it will be too much of a problem given the heavy hitters already on the board and the very public nature of the announcement. UFC fighters now have the opportunity to put their support behind the MMAAA en masse without a high risk of repercussions. The UFC can’t blackball the majority of its roster.

Next, a female fighter should be added to the board. Leslie Smith has been vocal about the need for fighters to band together. ‘The Peacemaker’ just cut ties with the fledgling Professional Fighters Association (PFA) for breaking its promise of confidentiality regarding the names of fighters interested in joining. She threw her hat into the ring on Twitter as a candidate for the MMAAA board. Even though men greatly outnumber women in the UFC ranks (eight divisions to two), having a woman on the board would help demonstrate the MMAAA’s intention to be representative of the entire roster.

Another conundrum that faces the board is the inclusion of former Bellator founder and president Bjorn Rebney as a prominent figure. Many pundits and fighters have already decried his involvement. Rebney had become unpopular prior to his ouster from Bellator, and many feel he is a liability. Fighters with whom he has clashed in the past may be hesitant to support the MMAAA with him around, and people are already questioning his motives. Rebney is a former promoter himself, so the Association brought him on as an advisor, but what does he stand to gain? Getting a chance to stick it to former rival Dana White and company is one possible answer, but some are worried there is a more nefarious one: money.

There is also the claim that Creative Artists Agency is just trying to stir up trouble for its rival. CAA is the other major talent agency in Hollywood, along with new UFC owners William Morris Endeavor (WME). Four of the five fighters on the board of MMAAA (excluding Cerrone) are CAA clients. Kennedy claimed that CAA supports the MMAAA but has no say in its decisions, as the board will be comprised of and the decisions made solely by fighters.

These are the main roadblocks that the MMAAA has to overcome at this point, but its true rival comes in the form of WME-IMG. The Zuffa-era UFC had a reputation as a cutthroat business that dealt mercilessly with rivals and promotional malcontents. That doesn’t figure to change. The new ownership has invested mountains of cash in this business, and its executives will make their own giant bags of money if they hit certain revenue benchmarks in the first half of 2017.

While the UFC’s public response was civil, you can believe that behind the scenes, they are doing everything in their power to discredit, stymie, and otherwise slow the progress of the MMAAA. They have already been lobbying Washington in an effort to prevent the Muhammad Ali Act from being amended to include MMA. If the Ali Act were to include MMA, many of the UFC’s coercive contractual practices would be jeopardized. A fighters’ association would do the same.

Fans of fighters have to see this as a step in the right direction. Having a collective voice at the bargaining table to ensure fairer contracts, a more equitable revenue split, and more comprehensive insurance and benefits are all good for the people we tune in to watch in the first place. But there is still much to be done before any of that becomes a reality. And the owners figure to bitterly resist change every step of the way.

Fortunately, the men and women the UFC is built on are used to a fight.

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Reaction: So What’s This MMA Athletes Association All About?

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It looks like the time has finally come. It seems as if the Mixed Martial Arts Athletes Association is actually happening and that can mean some very, very big changes moving forward in the sport. The Association promises some pretty bold, pretty intriguing offerings for those who looking for some security outside of the major mixed martial arts promotions, namely the UFC. Fighter treatment has been a hot-button issue for quite some time now, specifically fighter pay, health insurance, and severance/retirement packages fighters aren’t afforded with their contracts with top MMA promotions.

Is this Fighter Association what the athletes have been waiting for? At this point it’s hard to say. The Fighter Association has been set up in hopes of representing their clients, namely fighters under the UFC brand for example, and their best interests. Tim Kennedy, Georges St-Pierre, and the other fighters on the board have gone on record stating that their first line of business is to obtain a settlement package that will ensure that past, present, and future UFC fighters will be given the benefits needed to give them a safety net for their post fight careers. Going forward they are hoping to expand on this idea of giving the power back to the fighters.

So far, it sounds great and it’s about time that something was done to ensure that fighters are given a fair shake. The problem is we can’t celebrate so soon. Until a great deal of fighters join this association, until we’ve seen that the big promotions are actually being threatened by this new entity, there’s no way of knowing if the MMA Athletes Association is truly going to make a change. With big names like Georges St-Pierre, Donald Cerrone, Cain Velasquez, TJ Dillashaw, and Tim Kennedy as members of the board, fighters are sure to be in good hands moving forward. It’s all about if they can actually get some traction for this thing to work. Until then, everything is a question mark.

What is your take on this new Mixed Martial Arts Athletes Association?

Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his Twitter and Facebook to keep up with his antics.

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