Benson Henderson: My phone keeps ringing, UFC fighters asking about move to Bellator

Interesting indeed.

I think how the UFC is treating their fighters is starting to work against them somehow. The poster that said they'll keep the fighters they want around and pay more money is true.

But the question becomes why even go to the UFC? They have a great platform but are known to not pay that much and publicly bash you if you ask for a raise or don't agree 100% with there agenda.

Maybe because they want to fight the top guys in the world and be relevant in the mainstream sports world
 
Strikeforce 2.0 the second coming of Coker


And no that's not a hardcore bondage dvd
Much like Strikeforce this model of Coker's Bellator will fail.

Viacom will give him money up until some point and then expect big results. Those will not come and much like Strikefoce, Bellator will fall hard. Sadly
 
It's like I keep saying UFC will keep some fighters and let others go. People keep saying "I think a bunch of fighters are leaving UFC" that may be true in a way but which fighters? The UFC will make sure they keep who they want to keep and let go of who they want to go. Just like they kept Melendez cause they wanted him and Chad Mendes. Rumors are they offered Reem a great contract and he'll most likely be coming back as well will see what happens there. People were freaking out like this when Dan Henderson went to strike force and Tim Sylvia and Arvlovski went to affliction.

This. People do realize that the UFC can contractually match any offer a fighter gets right? That means, if they want that fighter in the UFC, they will have that fighter in the UFC. Benson is in Bellator because Zuffa didn't want him in the UFC. They didn't even bother to use their matching option.
 
The UFC roster is big enough that I'm sure Dana isn't sweating a few (dozen) fighters opting not to resign.

If you can't make a living without sponsor money you probably can't be a UFC champ or mainstay anyway. May as well go to Bellator.
Good point. Benson could never be a UFC champ
 
what's the point of fighting the best if you're getting paid shit?

Depends if your in the UFC and fighting the best and winning but getting paid shit you can eventually become champion. Then everything changes and you put yourself in a position that not even Bellator can match. Now i fyour fighting the best and losing then yea maybe it's time to move on to Bellator.
 
That Reebok deal was so stupid. I usually defend Dana when he gets accused of arrogance, but this one took the cake, and is really going to cause lasting damage to the UFC.
 
Depends if your in the UFC and fighting the best and winning but getting paid shit you can eventually become champion. Then everything changes and you put yourself in a position that not even Bellator can match. Now i fyour fighting the best and losing then yea maybe it's time to move on to Bellator.
So it's the same as securing better pay while fighting easier opponents but in reverse?
 
That is true, however you have to also account for those type of PPV's that only draw about 300k there's also the sponsorship in Bellator. If they give someone like Miesha Tate or Donald Cerrone PPV points that's good if you fight on a Conor McGregor card but if you fight on a Mighty Mouse card and he's not even hitting 200k then it's kind of just a moot point, you're not making anything significant to offset the potential money off sponsors.

And on that topic, Gilbert is a perfect example of why that's a risk, you don't wanna overpay for anything and the UFC clearly overpaid for him, he's 0-2 since he signed that contract and now he's suspended so now UFC has to pay Gilbert PPV points if he fights on PPV or if they don't wanna pay him PPV points they have to put him on free TV and thus he's not making sponsorship money or PPV money, he's just getting his measly 5k from Reebok when he could go to Bellator and get a lot more.

Gilbert's contract requires him to be on PPV 75% of the time so they can't screw him over to much with that. As far as overpaying could care less let the UFC overpay it's about time they hand out that money. Brendon Schaub said he made 100,000 from sponsors that's the highest I could find out of any fighter. So as long as the PPV draws 200,000 PPV buys you come out on top by a lot. I seriously doubt guys are making over 100,000 in sponsors in Bellator. Hell Masvidal said he wasn't even making 10,000 in sponsors in the UFC he preferred the rebook deal. MM has went on record as saying the The UFC barely even does PPV's with TJ or MM cause they don't draw those guys are always on fox cards and things like that. Either way Gilbert showed that PPV points meant more to him then anything Bellator was offering. I expect all fighters will feel the same way.
 
Someone said something about Cerrone going over. But as it stands at present I don't think Bellator put on the quantity of events to workout better financially for him. He likes to fight a lot. UFC can accommodate that in a way I don't think the competition can at present.
 
Reebok deal goes until 2020. Dana fucked up.
 
It does mean better cards if we start having top talent leave. Then it means people online arguing and pretending Gegard Mousasi or Gilbert Melendez are the best in the world without us actually knowing one way or another. The guys who've left so far I'm ok with. Reem leaving would be pretty bad though.

I hear you. People are always going to argue anyway, if more of the mid to top tier talent in the sport are fighting more I'll watch whatever org is offering it that night.

Doesn't it seem like it takes our favorite fighters too long to get fights? Let the UFC fill it's own talent out and let Bellator buy the draws that are willing to take a shot at branching out.
 
It's like I keep saying UFC will keep some fighters and let others go. People keep saying "I think a bunch of fighters are leaving UFC" that may be true in a way but which fighters? The UFC will make sure they keep who they want to keep and let go of who they want to go. Just like they kept Melendez cause they wanted him and Chad Mendes. Rumors are they offered Reem a great contract and he'll most likely be coming back as well will see what happens there. People were freaking out like this when Dan Henderson went to strike force and Tim Sylvia and Arvlovski went to affliction.
I was freaking out about Timmeh I danced and celebrated when he left then danced and celebrated even more when Fedor beat the fuck out of him
 
Someone said something about Cerrone going over. But as it stands at present I don't think Bellator put on the quantity of events to workout better financially for him. He likes to fight a lot. UFC can accommodate that in a way I don't think the competition can at present.
If Cerrone fights at his current pace...7 fights in a year would guarantee him big $$$ if Bellator plays it right + his sponsorship money. This is a good chance for Bellator to up their game and pronote their events better. In any case...If Cerrone keeps winning, he's staying...he's making good $$$ right now...all he needs is manage his $$$ properly. he burning it fast.
 
I hear you. People are always going to argue anyway, if more of the mid to top tier talent in the sport are fighting more I'll watch whatever org is offering it that night.

Doesn't it seem like it takes our favorite fighters too long to get fights? Let the UFC fill it's own talent out and let Bellator buy the draws that are willing to take a shot at branching out.

Yea but lately those arguments have pretty much just stopped. Now it's just speculation like "how would will brooks do against the LWs". Not "Will brooks is GOAT at LW" like we would hear with Aoki. As far as watching guys I like fight? I like watching so many fighters and UFC is throwing on so many cards that I don't even notice most of the time. I have a hard time keeping up with fighters now I see a fighter I like and forget about him until the next time he fights and I'm like "Oh shit I haven't seen this guy in a while".
 
I was freaking out about Timmeh I danced and celebrated when he left then danced and celebrated even more when Fedor beat the fuck out of him

It was crazy what Fedor did to him and Arlovski then. People wanted to know how good he was and he answered the question. Would have been even more epic if Timmy hadn't lost to Nog but he was whooping that ass until he made that one mistake.
 
It was crazy what Fedor did to him and Arlovski then. People wanted to know how good he was and he answered the question. Would have been even more epic if Timmy hadn't lost to Nog but he was whooping that ass until he made that one mistake.
I danced and celebrated when Nog beat him too but nothing made me as happy as when Randy beat him down especially after what Timmeh said before the fight.
 
He's content with being a big fish in a small pond. Six figures, new opportunities for sponsors, etc, would look enticing to anyone.

But is the potential of fighting only once a year, if that, worth it?
This^ it's all about the bigger picture. Not saying that the move to Bellator is not a good one, but right now it's hard to say.

Sometimes all that glitters is not gold.
 
Much like Strikeforce this model of Coker's Bellator will fail.

Viacom will give him money up until some point and then expect big results. Those will not come and much like Strikefoce, Bellator will fall hard. Sadly

Jeez what a negative nancy.


Bellator has been around for what like 7 years? They seem to be pretty stable.


There are many good things going for them starting with that Rebok deal and Viacom. It's good for MMA and the fighters in general to have somewhere else to go if they're unsatisfied with the UFCs harsh practices.
 
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