Rumor has it that Mike Swick is the one who called the UFC and stated that he was with them either way. We might see Koscheck cut too. This is ridiculous.

Unions have screwed up all professional sports. I don’t get it?

The over-head on an event like this is through the roof, then theres the Licensing, production, advertising….. And fighters manage to have decent paydays. Fighters get many opportunies from the exposer they get from the UFC, you cant buy that kind of exposer.

Agents do what for our entertainemnt? and this is about their cut, so think about what your saying.

YAY!! Dont sign . . . And dont fight. I hope its what you wanted, not to see these guys fight anymore.

Little late… But True.

Dana had a lot of bad things to say about Cain in another interview basically saying the kid has 4 fights, so he ain’t nothing.

Read the article that is linked above.

Kos was promised to fight at the event for the Troops, Dana doesn’t go back on his word. However, if nothing changes, expect that to be his last fight in the UFC. Same goes for Cain, next UFC fight is his last if things stay the same.

It sounds like Fitch needs to pick up the phone and personally call Dana White. The first Fitch interveiw I read was a little bit different. Mainly saying that it he were to die, then the UFC gets 100% of the money going forward and his family gets nothing.

I’ll be interested to hear Koscheck’s in-ring interview after that UFN show.

Well Im dissapointed Fitch is no longer with the UFC, but no way am I gonna try and tell someone with more money than me how to run their business so if Dana wants him gone, than we’ll just deal with it I guess.

FITCH GOT DISMANTLED BY GSP! FUCK FITCH AND ALL THEM AKA IDIOTS. THE UFC WILL LIVE ON REGARDLESS OF THEM CLOWNS.

If I were Koschek and I was expecting to be released after I headline the UFC’s next show, i would come to the weigh ins, act like everything is peaches and Cream and then I would just not show up for the main event! Could u imagine how embarrassing that would be to the UFC to put on a special show for the troops and the headlining fighter not even show up!

That would be some Humble Pie for Dana…mat Serra style baby!

After KOS saved the show just a month ago…stepping up and helpping the ufc when DS got hurt and Dana does this>>>>>>>>Thats F UP

yeah he could not show up, then he would get his @ss sued for breach of contract and he’d be fighting the rest of his life for free to pay his legal bills.

Dana needs to do some serious Damage control. Their is already a petition floating around calling for Dana to be fired….It has like 4 million signatures in just 7 hours!

People r pissed!

that is great news! fire that clown’s ass..

All those people can kiss Dana’s @ss!!! Dana is a partner not just an employee! You guys got your panies twisted for Fitch? Fitch is a boring @ss fighter! The fight with GSP was only exciting cause GSP beat the sh*t out of him! The only guy I hope doesnt get cut is Cain, but if he chooses to let AKA run his life then f*ck him too!

yeah John, that’d be such a great move for Kos. Let’s give the troops and the entire cause a big “F you” by not showing up for the fight and basically saying that you’re better than them.

Maybe you’re that type of person but Josh Koscheck certainly is not that type of man.

hey, at least we know what type of person you are though. I won’t say man, because I don’t think that type of mentality qualifies you to be one.

I F’in hate Kos, but if I were him and I stepped up oin 2 weeks notice to fill in for Diego and SAVE your co-main event, and I was being told that I would be cut after my next fight, you bet your ass I would make Dana pay for it!

bTW, since when is Josh koschek is some kind of angel?

Check this site out…http://www.tapoutlive.com/images/mags/ufc_legal.pdf...

WIGGY good link!!!

I guess they (UFC) are being a bit unreasonable in this deal.

I wonder how many guys actually signed this thing?

He didn’t seem to mind putting fitch on blast on yahoo though. Also what does sanctioning and the bs, he’s talking about have to do with fighter contracts. I wonder how other fighters and agents will take this?

Comment by Chris W
2008-11-20 01:42:28
http://www.tapoutlive.com/images/mags/ufc_legal.pdf

I agree it’s a business and there’s little option for Jon Fitch, even if he and other fighters have a great point. My problem with White is he says “I’m not a douchbag”… however, this time he’s doing something just like a ‘Cheesy Boxing Promoter’ and taking total advantage of the situation and now he’s saying it’s the mgmt companies fault, BS, BS, BS… White just admit you’re being a ‘douchebag’ in this likeness contract situation and then we all could be on the same page. If anyone here hasn’t read the contract, u should, before u comment, and yeah it’s a biased site, but read between the lines n’ judge for yourself!

This is excellent news; Kos can join Southworth and languish in Strikeforce. Losers

MY 2 CENTS

Video games earn a ton of money Out of Tigers 100 Mil last years I read 59 mil was from the VG.

Did you every think of this:

UFC and DANA: publicity bad or good is always, always, always gooood…it’s a stunt to gain attention on the new Hottest game coming out…its all for show. Jon will be back in no Time.

kos is out after his next fight. Dana has already said that they’re letting him do the “for the troops” show because he did them a favor with the alves fight. Also more likely because they need a main even for that so they don’t have a choice at the moment.

What makes you think the UFC defends against law suits weekly? I would hope to see Kos and Fitch back in. This is assuming that Kos actually is out of the UFC.

Affliction might die out. I am predicting that it will although it is easy to do that considering they aren’t in the news all that much anymore.

Affliction won’t die but can’t compete with only 2 cards a year

what bothered me most about fitch, is that he claimed that he never talked to dana himself in person. how does he know for certain what dana said, what dana meant, how his demeanor was if he didnt speak to him in person.

Fitch is an intelligent, well-educated guy. So are a lot of other UFC fighters. Some are morons, but most of them are college-educated. I think Fitch should probably take a more proactive approach to his career if he doesn’t know what his management guys are doing.

Or maybe he should just sign the paper and STFU!!! Leave the crusades to Billy Graham!

lmao!

fitch should talk to dana in person, not through his management! fitch sounds stoooopid when he say dana said this and that and acted in a certain way, when he was never there in person. he said in the interview that it wasnt what dana said or did, it was the way he said and did things. how in the hell does he know if he wasnt there? i think fitch knows he will never be the ww champ as long gsp or bj is there and a part of him wants out.

b.w., that is what I said on another thread. He knows he will never be champ and he may just be one of those guys who needs some sort of belt to validate all the hard work. Easy way out of a contract, but definatly burned some bridges. In the interview on 5oz of pain he says his managers told him to sign, but he made the final decision not to. I don’t give a sh*t anymore about AKA. How does everybody else sign with no complaint, but Fitch is the one guy that didn’t. Who looks like the fool? You want money, STFU and fight!

I agree as well!!! Now maybe AKA can all go to another organization together and NOT fight each other. What a joke!

haha seriously. have fun with your own little fantasy MMA promotion there AKA. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out!

none of the aka guys would ever fight each other anyway. that could’nt have been easy for dana to deal with the whole time. 3 guys in the top 10 that wont fight each other? tough $hit. be a professional!

damn, another guy figured me out, I’m unemployed and live in my mom’s basement! I live in the most expensive area of the country to live in (maybe second to NY city) Have you ever seen the medium income for the san fran bay area? I make more blogging all day than you do, stop blindly hating! If you disagree with me, thats cool, they’re opinions, but to say I don’t know business is funny! I owned my first business before I was 23, and sold it at 25! I went to college for management! I have a lot of knowledge and opinion on business!
Jeff, thank you for your insight, I was waiting to see what your thoughts were all day!

Fitch should learn to speak for himself

john-

Its ok to disrespect kevin.

He does it to other people all the time!

:)

McArthur, you should learn how to “work the google”! Fitch has done about 5 interviews since being released less than 24 hours ago

john you should know kevin is always on dana/ufc side he will always spin it to look the the ufc has done no wrong.

John,
generally speaking your right….he is doing a lot of talking but not makin sense…his loyalty to AKA will eventually land him in as much disarray as his disloyality to the UFC…there are lots of camps, especially for the apparent #2 WW in the world…he seems to be caught in the middle here and the only way out is to “think for himself”…he has to remember that he is holding the trump card…his ability

I understand Dana built this company to where it is, so all respect for that. I think we’re passed that now. We can say the AFL made the NFL what it is today, but nobody cares anymore.

Fighters need to unionize if they want to have a leg to stand on when it comes to negotiation. EVERY other major US sport has a union for this very reason. If someone tries to negotiate, Dana can just FU; you’re out of the UFC. I’m sorry, that’s just f’d up.

Forget the details of this situation, I’m talking about the bigger picture. There can never be a true partnership as long as one side holds all the power.

Truth.

yeah? what’s the union going to do? File a grievance against the UFC? What do you think the UFC is going to do? LMAO. They’re just going to put it in the shredder. At the end of the day these fighters want to fight and where do they have the best chance of making a career at that? The U….F….C.

All a union is going to do is create lockouts which is going to hurt us as fans even more. So quit your fucking whining! Fitch and AKA will be back doing business with the UFC before you know it. Guaranteed.

also a union would protect fat-a$$ underperforming fighters like fihlo and werdum. fighters would start training hard and performing well until they knew they had a union to protect their contract. kinda like you see alot of baseball players and other pro atheletes preform so well during their “contract year”, sign for big money and then mail it in for the rest of the contract. theres way too many to name. a union would kill mma. its not a team sport, it’s and individual sport.

All other US sports are a bag of shite, nobody outside of that country watches them and there is no international competition. “World series” my ass.
Don’t try to group UFC with American Suits of Armor Football, American Steroid Rounders and hoods done good hoops.
The UFC is an international promotion and because of this is poised to overtake all the other sports the USA holds so dear. There will be no union because there is no “N” in UFC.

“For the American readers – that means it’s not a national league”

$60 million profit????…no it’s not. Who’s manufacturing these games? Where is the packaging coming from? Other materials? Marketing? Are we not paying anyone else involved in the process? Come on Jeff, think this one through before you post.

Good post!

FukStyck,

Read my post again. I only say it appears to be a $60 million profit, but that is before you cut the pie.

FukStyck, finish reading his post. He acknowledges it’s $60 million gross sales, not $60 million net profit.

Its still DW strong arming things (or so it appears).

But monopolies do this in order to get a strangle hold on their respective markets.

No competion, no unions, ultimatums = a steady stream of profit for the UFC that cannot be challenged legally.

This “problem” with AKA is just a building block to establishing the UFC as the ONLY game in town.

IF Fitch is refusing then more power to him.

Signing lifetime contracts are never a good idea unless you are GUARANTEED a an indexed number competitive with the current economy.

In other words, fighters should get more than “scraps”.

Why I tend to side with Fitch is that just recently the sport has really started to blow up. Who knows how much bigger it will get in the next 10-20 years. A contract not worth that much money NOW, could be worth a lot more in the future. Fitch is being smart, NO one should ever sign a lifetime contract. To muych stuff changes from one decade to the next.

I hear that the underlying dilema about this situation is that Dana Promised THQ (video game maker) EXCLUSIVE lifetime imaging rights to the video game manufacturer, without getting consent from all its fighters. Meaning that THQ will be the only cvompany making UFC video games. Problem is that Dana made that promise before getting all its fighters to sign off, and it got to a point where Dana needed everyone to sign so he was like F u, just sign.

There is a really good written out interview of Fitch where he breaks it down in depth!

OJR,

I like the idea of an index percentage. Mind you I don’t see it happening for a myriad of reasons, but it is an interesting option.

Secondly, I really don’t see anything coming from this video game revenue wise that amounts to more than scraps. Then again, I’m not a fan of this type of game. This also only holds true if the contract in question was for likeness only in regards to the video game.

John,

I agree the sport has grown and has potential to continue to grow at a very impressive rate. Thus, if the contract is for anything other than likeness in relation to the game, a fighter needs to weigh the cost and benifits of signing something like this.

Your second point is interesting and I have not heard this before. Sounds like Dana was counting his eggs before they were hatched. There is no reason that the fighters should have know about this stipulation prior to the deadline for signatures.

Jeff: When I read this news this morning. YOu were the 1st person that came to mind. I knew you would be able to break down the contractual mumbo Jumbo for us…Much appreciated.

Yeah, my understanding is that Dana counted his eggs before they hatched, and then had to start making ultimatums to save face.

Jeff: I would like to say that recently I have come to really enjoy your post. Good stuff man, and keep the knowledge flowing. YOur input about the business side of things is invaluable to this site!

Props!

john, you just keep leaning more for Fitch. Is it so wrong to sign a deal that will make your company some money? Kalib Starnes also had his side against the UFC remember? F*ck what Fitch is talking about! ITS A F*CKIN VIDEO GAME! This is coming from a guy who is not even a star! Before he fought GSP, half the people on here were saying he was boring (myself included) Now all of a sudden, poor Fitch! Its not right! Danas an @ss! Give me a f*ckin break! No big lose to the UFC.

Correction loss not lose! Before Kevin comes on here and makes fun of me! LOL

Werdum, Fitch, Koschek, Cain….. where does it end? who’s next, BJ Penn?

JV: For a guy thats on this site every day do you even watch the fights? Fitch BOring? I hate the wrestling aspect of mma more than anyone, and not once did I ever associate the word Boring with Jon Fitch!

Fitch is boring but the 2 times you have actually seen Cain Vallasquez tells you that he is GREAT?

JV: I am always going to be PRO Fighter!

Thanks, John. I enjoy posting about the contractual and business aspect of MMA. If it provides some knowledge and enjoyment for others, even better.

john, I said Cain for biased reasons hes MEXICAN! But I had also said that if Cain lets AKA run his life then f*ck him too!!!

jv you said if cain lets aka(his freinds and training partners) run his life than f him, well should he let dana and the ufc run his life than?

wow JV and BNF are truly blind UFC supporters… go watch some interviews with John Fitch, he says they cut Christian Wellisch before he even had a chance to sign this contract, just to scare Fitch and Koscheck into it. He said Wellisch was going to sign it and didnt care about the circumstances but they cut him ANYWAYS! WAKE UP YOU TWO! stop defending something that has fallen from grace and deserves the criticism its getting

This convo is actually pretty stupid. If you ask me, I bet Fitch will be re-signed with the UFC by this time next week.

Fitch is not stupid. He knows every single top welterweight is property of Zufa. Who can he go fight outside the UFC? Jay Heiron? Give me a break.

I hate this whole situation but if you ask me, UFC is playing hardball forcing Fitch into a corner, and I am pretty sure he will give in to the UFC’s demands.

Gono vs. Fitch will proceed as planned. you all wait and see!

JV: before you posted that you like Cain for biased reasons (being Mexican), I actually stated in the above post that I bet you would think Fitch was exciting if he were Mexican, but Mania moderated it out of my post. I hope silly comments like that aren’t misconstrued as racists remarks, I guess thats how mania saw it. No offense though!

This politically correct crap in this country is getting old!

same thing I was thinking john…but better yet, I don’t care!!!

Jeff-

If you deduce that the bottom line is no more than “scraps” anyway, then why make the deal?

If the bottom line translates to a marginal profit then why the uproar?

Your $60 million example really holds no water (since this is all speculation anyway) but I appreciate the breakdown nonetheless.

BTW – I agree with you on the index idea but since we are throwing up scenarios…I figured, what the hell, right? ;)

I read somewhere, that some video games cost and make more than some movies. They take years to make and sell a lot. But not fighting games, it’s basically free publicity and a cool thing!

Roy, AKA is just a training gym homie! The UFC is what pays the bills! So if (I) had to choose, I’d choose what pays the bills! Its not like Fitch cant go train somewhere else right?

Brendan, some of you guys seem to care too much about a fighters pay and problems! Unless you know him/them personally, why would you care so much? Im just stating my opinion on who I think is right!

i am just saying jv i don’t think fitch did much wrong and the ufc is strong arming him, would you like that?

OJR,

The deal is really for the video game developers. My understanding of the contract is that they, not just Zuffa, own the likeness to the fighters for the video game. Thus, any fighter could be used in future games by the developer and not used by other developers.

Yep. he might be out after his December 10th fight.

Chef1… perfectly said..

hear hear! well said indeed!

And doesn’t seem weird that at least 1 fighter (Swick) didn’t want this, called dana and he’s still in the UFC. Sounds as if AKA might not have asked the fighters what they wanted. Maybe some of these guys will dump them and switch camps.

He’s best known for looking like Hazelett.

I’m pretty sure he would be well known in Canada if you are gonna refer to a GSP fight. But not for GSP whooping his ass. For taking a tremendous beating from GSP and still making GSP push himself for the entire 5 rounds.

PW- hahaha its visa versa

I realized why I couldn’t say it fast. Because the sentence didn’t make sense ;) I get what your saying though. However, I am pretty sure that they know of him because they witnessed the hype for UFC 87 Seek and Destroy. Then they actually witnessed the fight with GSP and became big fans. The only connection with me is the fact that they now know that Fitch was cut. They otherwise wouldn’t know and within a few months they may ask me “hey whens that John Fitch fightin’ again?”

Fitch fought on the same card as Brock Lesnar. Brock Lesnar brings in tons of PPV buys. Not to mention all of the canadians tuning in to see GSP square off against Fitch in the main event. That is a massive amount of exposure and on top of that, he put on a great fight that night. Granted, he didn’t do too well, but he took a tremendous beating and pushed one of the top p4p fighters to a full 5 rounds.

P.S. Your screen name… you get that from Cool Hand Luke? hahahahaha I watched that movie last year

I am not a Fitch fan. I think that he, like Koscheck, relies far too heavily on humping his way to decision wins. Regardless of where he is in the rankings, how many people buy a PPV JUST because Fitch is on it?

My point exactly. I would say under 5% of the PPV’s Fitch is on are bought because of him.

PW- good point. not about the “humping” but about purchasing a PPV just to see Fitch. This doesn’t mean that people aren’t a fan of him though. I may not purchase a PPV JUST to see him but Fitch being on a card is certainly icing on the cake.

Why 5%?

Read my first comment above.

ITS EVERYWHERE! Even the article quoted above from USA TODAY says so, just click the link to read more!

OR, go to Yahoo and click “sports” and then “MMA” and you can find a VERY good article as well.

Dana White cares for the fighters. Not all of them, but a fair amount of them. And he loves the sport as well. Do you think he flew in to help Rampage out during his hit and run ordeal because he didn’t care about him? I don’t think so. Now you are calling Evan Tanner a mental case? Very respectful. You may say it’s your opinion but if Dana White had reportedly said such a thing, he would be considered to be heartless.

And what do you mean there was a reason behind his heat exaustion? He went out into nature (something he has done countless times in the past) and didn’t make it this time. It was a dangerous trip as indicated in his blog and things just went wrong.

ok, my thoughts are that he went into the desert or whatever knowing that if he went deep enough he wouldn’t make it. what i mean is that these guys should be treated bette. I just think that E.T wasn’t ready mentally to be in a main event, there’s nothing wrong with having some mental or personal problems people deal with those things every day, and for the Rampage thing of course he flew out there that’s his job he kiss ppls asses to have them stay in the UFC, now he puts him into a fight with Wanderlei after what happened to Quinton, does that make any sense to you?

how are they getting an “‘f’ you”? Please answer me that. Because from my seat, I see a rising promotion, clearly head and shoulders and even ankles above the other 3 that are trying to make it in the business, providing fighters like Jon Fitch and Josh Koscheck with job security. And if that’s not enough, they’re spending their own money and time on promoting these fighters by putting them in advertisements or video games (in this case) or even having those autograph sessions that they have. All of that is done to further the fighters! The UFC does a shit load for fighters beyond giving them job security that a lot of you ignorant ppl don’t even realize.

how much do you think NFL players were making 15 years into the creation of the NFL? Millionaires aren’t made over night. And for you to think I don’t realize there are fighter’s livelihoods at stake is ignorant on your part. We all understand this is how they make their living. Sure they have made sacrifices, but so has the UFC. If it wasn’t for the UFC, this sport wouldn’t be as big as it is right now and these guys wouldn’t have jobs. No other company in MMA was lobbying for the legalization of the sport state to state. Educate yourself on that.

You stating that the UFC doesn’t want their fighters to make money is ludicrous. They have tons of fighters, the most in any MMA company who are making more money than any fighters outside the organization. They treat their fighters well or they wouldn’t have fighters. They would go to other organizations like you said… but they don’t cause they know the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.

And read the article, the AKA isn’t trying to get Fitch and it’s fighters MORE MONEY. Money isn’t the argument. It’s the language of the contract for a video game.

You UFC bashers make me sick. You complain every time a fighters management goes at odds with the UFC. You hug the balls of the Tito Ortiz’s of the world when they are overpaid and asking for ridiculous demands that will jeopardize the sport we love. You support the leaches like AKA and KJ Noons and Brandon Vera’s manager like they’re so much better than Dana White. These are the guys taking money out of the fighter’s pockets. Not Dana.

Check your facts.

I can give you the facts on everything you want to, i’m just stating my honest opinions.. and what’s fun is that everybody’s talking about how boxing is dead Dana is saying that in every interview, but still they’ve paid the boxers money that the UFC are not even close to, their giving the fighters 50-60 percent of their revenue and the UFC are giving 5% so who’s corrupt? I can bash the UFC all day long and how much i want to, cause it’s not even about the UFC it’s about the fighters that are fighting for the UFC to even make them a company, what if all the fighters that are in the UFC suddenly went to another organization that pays alot more.. and finally what is the meaning with having a 3d Rampage vs Wanderlei fight? they’re trying to market both of them and after this fight the loser’s career is gonna get seriously hurt, does Dana White care? no all he wants is to make quick money on that fight while it’s still hot.. sure i like to see it as a fan, but i care about the fighters that i like i’m not just gonna watch my favourite fighters and not care..

Well, as long as they can train full time and make a decent living, I really could care less how much money they make and how rich they become. Boxing brings in more revenue for big fights, that’s why they can offer the bigger pay days.
And now you don’t want to see Wanderlei/Rampage III because however loses is seriously going to get hurt? Grow some nuts buddy. This is a fight business, not a hold their hand and pat them on the butt business. Get it together and quit acting like a woman, please.

Well…. his fight with Rashad Evans was a draw and one of the most boring fights I have ever watched.

And his Split Decision over Forrest Griffin was EXTREMELY QUESTIONABLE, but he did get the judges split. My personal opinion is Griffin won the 2nd and 3rd round, but that could be up for argument.

It’s not about the video game….it’s about respect, period.

If I offered a “take it or get out” contract, and spoke to my employees the same way that Dana speaks to his, I’d expect nothing less than for them to tell me to fuck off. Anything less form them would be a disapointment as far as I’m concerned.

For what it’s worth, the guys who kiss my ass, always do what their told, and toe the line every day, are less valuable then the ones who have a mind of their own….and balls.

Respect is in the payday and the fact that he is being given the fights he was given. Don’t make this out like he was being disrespected. EVERY fighter was offered this, and if it was so “disrespectful” it wouldn’t be signed by any fighter with any dignity. The respect angle has no legs in this discussion based off of that. Once again, this is TWO FIGHTERS (with wellisch) we’re talking about who fight under the same Academy with a sordid past. Don’t you find that funny?

You still didn’t answer the question about the percentage.

Also, being a business man myself, I would have to completely disagree with your last statement. People who toe the line, do their job, and keep their mouth shut (minus the ass kissing) have always been more valuable in a business venture then people who challenge every line of authority, or “have balls”. That’s just smart business.

I’ll take your word for it…

Thanks though

Name the other MMA company that will create a video game. Come on. I’m waiting. There are none and to say the statement is insane is, well… insane.
Name me another Football league that is putting out video games with NFL player likenesses. Or a Basketball league using NBA players? MLB? NHL? There are none!

Elite XC was on a national network supported by a national conglomerate and they were bleeding money, just like Affliction is now. Why do you think the heads of Affliction met with the UFC to close it’s doors if the UFC allowed their fighters to wear Affliction gear again? Because they realize they make more money with their T-Shirts on the backs of UFC fighters then they do putting on their own fights!

UFC is still a growing company that’s going to get bigger and bigger, making more and more money. They take care of their fighters or they wouldn’t have any, plain and simple. The bigger they get, the richer their fighters get. Just look at the numbers of UFC contracts and how the salaries have risen over the past 5 years along with the rise of bonus numbers. It’s getting better for them.

The other sports leagues don’t have other games being developed because EA has exclusive rights to those leagues and the players in them. Not because no one else wants to make games. Right now, your right, no other organization is planning on a video game but to say NO OTHER organization WILL EVER make one is insane. MMA is a baby right now, and if the UFC thinks it’s going to be the only show in town forever they should wake up. A big reason for this kind of contract is to constrain movement in a market. They want to plant flags on the moon now so they can gameplan for the future. The UFC is making it as hard as possible for any of these guys to ever explore other better avenues to make money and be successful. And im sure you are going to say "well where else can they right now." I have no problem with the UFC owning these guys NOW, but to want to own them FOREVER is a problem.

you speak the truth my friend. all these dana haters just crying cause there fan boy got cut for having failed management.

So EA having exclusive rights to the teams and likenesses, is sort of like UFC having exclusive rights to their fighters and likenesses. Right? What’s wrong with that? It’s a business protecting it’s product, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Why would you want someone else getting paid from what you built?

I just don’t get the argument of other MMA companies being good for the sport. If there are all these MMA companies with all these choices we wouldn’t know who is the best. You wouldn’t have the best fighting the best. They would be scattered amongst companies and we would be left wondering “what would happen if this guy fought this guy”. Very much like the Fedor/Couture situation. It’s like if there were 5 Football leagues and we had to wonder who REALLY was the true Super Bowl Champion, this team or that team. It’s not good for the sport.

NFL has a market on football. NBA, basketball. MLB. NHL, etc. There is no other competition for these sports. They have built themselves over the years. The players weren’t making those millions when these companies started, they were struggling. NFL was founded in 1920. NBA in 1946, and so on.
UFC? 1993. Like you said MMA is a baby, but the pay keeps getting better as the sport continues to grow. The fighters will make more and more money. Dana is looking out for his business, his fighters, and most importantly, the sport.

And yes, just like no other football organization has ever made a video game (hello XFL!), no other MMA company will make one. Call me insane, but that’s what I believe. 50 years from now UFC will be just as massive and successful as the NFL and the other sports leagues. And so will it’s fighters.

Well we just simply have a difference of opinion here. You seem to think that a company on top now will be on top forever. Please take a history class. The problem with the UFC controlling other people rights is that they will do with them whatever best serves the purpose of the business, not necessarily the fighters. You want the UFC to have a monopoly? How has that turned out in the past? History class. I pray to God you are not a Comcast customer like I am and have not experienced the evils of that company. Nobody else being allowed to play is usually never the best case scenario for anyone except the monopoly. If you think its bad for the sport to have competition, such that would boost salaries, make better matchups, and strive to have the best fighters in the world so the brand will succeed, then that’s your opinion. Monopolies remove the FREEDOM to move and look for greener pastures. They remove the OPPURTUNITY to make more money somewhere else. That’s should scare all these guys signing those contracts.

What the hell is the NFL? Or the NBA? Are they not monopolies? Do their players not have the ability to move unless it is over seas (DREAM, Sengoku)?

UFC is in it’s infant stage, but extremely successful. As it grows so will it’s fighters salaries. For a fighter to expect millions is ludicrous at this point in the growth process of the sport. You think the Babe Ruth’s and Jerry West’s of the sports world were 100% satisfied as the sport grew? Probably not.

HISTORY teaches us that in capitalist America, monopolies in the sports world have been thriving for the past century. Maybe you should open those History books. This isn’t a board room with suits and Comcast squeezing your nuts (I am a customer by the way, ha ha, and they are terrible), but this is a sport league, dealing in athletes. UFC will be on top for a long time. They have the business model and the backing to continue to build on their popularity. The fighters just have to be patient and grow along with them.

In other words, agree to disagree.

I did a moderation test the other day and it was ridiculous and so random.

I bet. Sometimes I can’t even figure out what they are moderating.

ya…we can say boobs and boobies….but not sh*t or g$y…which are 2 of the words I like to use most

I see you had to type it twice. sigh. I know the feeling hahaha.

Ha ha… damn moderating.

oh yes they do..

I train at American Top Team with several UFC fighters in Boca Raton FL. Yes. I would know.

LOL You just pwned that guy.

Well the NBA has been around since 1946 and the UFC since 1993. It’s also a worldwide company making ten fold what the UFC is making. Give the UFC 62 years to grow and expand and I’m sure the fighters salaries will be up there as well. Do you really think fifteen years into the NBA those fighters were making those millions with contract incentives?

You can’t sacrifice the growth of your company and sport for unreasonable, unethical demands. And that is what AKA is doing. UFC is protecting their sport, brand, and regardless of what people say, fighters.

yeah, the UFC ain’t the NBA yet either, so expecting to be paid MILLION in contracts would be a little ridiculous.

Those guys are NBA players and there is a logical reason why they can get paid so much more. They have a 100+ games a year with near sold out stadiums every game. That in and of it self speaks volumes. in order for you to compare you would have to put it in a ratio. So relatively speaking I think you might be suprised on the money.

damn im bald.

And, what will he be doing when he’s retired?…..pumping gas into Dana White’s Ferrari that he earned partially from the very video game that he won’t share any revenue from, that’s what.

how is this even sticking to principles? It is not as if he was asked to sign something immoral. This is not a question of principles…this is a question of whether Fitch would be likely to get a better video game deal somewhere down the road than what the UFC has to offer. Pretty balsy considering the is not even another profitable MMA organization out there.

Its a gamble, plain and simple. No one can blame Fitch got gambling, but you can hardly blame Dana for the same reason.

Only people like Rubberman who seem to buy into the notion that this negotiation is somehow insulting would think it was about principle.

Exactly—and that’s a problem. Sometimes Dana just needs to keep quiet. It can’t help when he’s in the media, calling business partners (or soon to be ex-partners) morons, cursing every other word.