Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney to culinary union: Don't back off your fight against the Fertittas!

Culinary Workers Union Local 226, based in Las Vegas, Nevada, has found an unlikely ally in its fight against Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) owners Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta.

Bjorn Rebney.

The Bellator CEO supports the union's fight against Station Casinos -- owned by the Fertitta Bros. -- even if it means giving up mixed martial arts (MMA) regulation in New York, where the financial effects of "Unite Here" are strong enough to stall votes for legislation.

Rebney states his case to Latin Post:

"The unions have a tremendous amount of power and influence in the state of New York, and the Fertittas have a horrible relationship with unions. That is obviously the crux of the problem and the motivation between the lack of MMA in the largest media market in the entire United States. And for people to shy away from it or try to position it as something else is just inaccurate. And that's what it is, that's the problem at its core... Anytime someone calls me to ask me, 'hey can you do this, can you speak on that,' I'd be more than happy to. But I'm smart enough to know that unions are very important to this country. They play too vital of a role in people's lives for them to back off, nor do I think they should back off in their fight that they are putting up against the Fertittas."

Rebney claims he's "stayed out of it" because he knows he "can't move the needle" in the "Empire State."

The Union, meanwhile, took his comments and splattered them on its own website, the same place it accuses Station Casinos of being "the worst labor-law breaker in the history of Nevada gaming." Lorenzo Fertitta responded by accusing Local 226 of "deception" and "fabrication" in hopes of pushing its own agenda.

Somewhere off to the side, Rebney continues to push his.