Carlos Condit: UFC deal with Reebok took away our financial security

Evangelista Santos recently suffered one of the most horrific injuries in the history of mixed martial arts (MMA) after his skull was cracked by Michael Page at Bellator 158.

Literally.

Now, "Cyborg" is on the mend after enduring a seven-hour surgery to repair the damage and vows to fight again soon.

It’s those types of risks that Carlos Condit says all fighters are aware of and fully accept when stepping foot inside the cage. However, it makes it harder to do when you know there isn’t much security to fall back on should fighters no longer be able to make a living with their fists.

That said, after witnessing the brutal injury, Condit knows his next fight against Demian Maia at UFC on FOX 21 on Aug. 27, 2016 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada could be his last.

"Any of these fights could be our last. So yeah, it is a possibility. Anything is possible. I don't think it’s going to be my last fight, but shit who knows. I wish that a dude like Cyborg, or any of these fighters who are putting their bodies through this and putting their health and well being on the line, I just wish we had a little bit more security. This is his trade, he’s a fighter and this is how he makes money. Now he can’t make any money. Now what the hell is he going to do? That’s kind of how it is with all of us, so, that is the nature of the sport. Any of us can get hurt, get our faces broken. We accept that risk, but, we kind of don’t have anything to fall back on. And I was like, ‘damn, he may never fight again.’"

As far as a fighter association — like the one Mark hunt wants to spearhead — and possible collective bargaining, Condit said he was all for it and pointed to the fact that the much-criticized Reebok deal has hurt fighters pockets and security.

"Something needs to be done. A big part of the Reebok deal, man, our loss in sponsors took away our security. Now we are beholden to living fight to fight and we don’t have that buffer in between in regards to financial security that sponsors gave us. So, we are in a weird place, man."

And though he gave nothing buy credit to Dana White and the Fertitta brothers for doing what they have done to bring MMA to where its is, Condit — who says he’s been taken care of great by UFC — feels one more step in legitimizing the sport as a whole would be to have a fighter's association.

Once that’s done, then and only then can MMA say they are just like every other major sports league in the world.

Anyone (dis) agree?