Has the Exodus Begun?

[BBMN]

Sorry for not apparently being specific enough.

My point was to ask if Bellator's willingness to pay decent money, combined with fighters' general disdain for the Reebok deal, would mean a rise in people defecting to Bellator.

 

[old_skula]

^^^^^

Sorry I didn't clarify when I posted originally. NO.

 

[DGT4NOW]

Is Josh Thomson's departure for Bellator possibly the start of something big? If he can make triple (or more) the money in sponsors elsewhere.... and make roughly the same in base pay, why not?

This very well could be the exact moment when an exodus of top-tier talent jumps ship. I bet more guys with just one fight left on their contract will jump within a year. Or is this just a one off occurrence?

lol, UFC told him (after last loss) that they are no longer interested in him & you take that as an exodus

How about Philty Tom re-signing after ripping Reebok?
Is that a sign too?

 

[accolyte1022]

This is brutal.

They also have Titor. True story.

 

[DGT4NOW]

Except there are other sources claiming the same exact thing as Zuffa. (Helwani and Meltzer)

The UFC did attempt to resign Josh BEFORE his contract was up because he was losing.

He decided not to take their offer at that time so when he finished the fights left on his contract they declined to offer him a new one or match Bellator's even though Josh's manager asked Joe Silva if they wanted to.

To be fair, Meltzer just reported what MMAFighting & Helwani did.
He did not add anything new that he learned separately

 

[Roidiculisp]

One guy leaves, so you think this may be an Exodus. He left because he was not invited back. Stop trying to make a mountain out of a molehill.

 

[Jarnee]

You mean the Exodous out of Bellator....

Rampage, Eddie and Askren

and Lombard

 

[KaneThePhoenix]

This is just another example of Coker overpaying for expiring talent just like he did with Strikeforce. He ran that company into the ground with these kind of signings and apparently hasn't learned his lesson.

Oh my! A white belt on Sherdog said Scott Coker paid too much for fighters! Oh no! Scott started SF, built it from the ground up, what is your achievement that gives you the experience to say he is overpaying NOW ?

Is there ANY reason I should call him up right now?

Because I will! *wags finger*


Oh hahahaha, thanks, you WB's give me a laugh now and then even if you are trolling possibly on an alt-account. Thanks for the chuckle!

 

[Steiger]

I believe so, TS.

Because of that rotten Reebok deal, other fight orgs have a huge incentive now to lure top-tier fighters and prospects with a "sponsor friendly" policy.

 

[riitzni]

Sorry for not apparently being specific enough.

My point was to ask if Bellator's willingness to pay decent money, combined with fighters' general disdain for the Reebok deal, would mean a rise in people defecting to Bellator.

No to your OP and no to your amended OP.

You know that the Punk was thinking about retiring, right? It's likely that they lowballed the shit out of him.

You guys are reading way too much into this Reebok stuff. If you think people are jumping ship to make 20/20 +10 in sponsorship vs 60/60 +5 you're nuts.

 

[DGT4NOW]

Oh my! A white belt on Sherdog said Scott Coker paid too much for fighters! Oh no! Scott started SF, built it from the ground up, what is your achievement that gives you the experience to say he is overpaying NOW ?

I like Coker, but his over-spending on talent (Fedor esp.) was a huge reason why the owners wanted out of SF

 

[Sosua]

I probably shouldn't have said "top-tier", but he is still a good fighter... just clarifying.

He is a good fighter but its nowblike LW is short on talent and at 36 he isn't chasing a title - makes sense he follows the money at this point in his career.

Ufc risks losing 'name' fighters on the down slide if they don't pay them better - a lot of cards still rely on these types to boost recognition.

 

[SerrabyTKO]

Is Josh Thomson's departure for Bellator possibly the start of something big? If he can make triple (or more) the money in sponsors elsewhere.... and make roughly the same in base pay, why not?

Thats a hilarious amount of assumptions, with zero real world examples to back them up, and plenty real world examples that contradict them.

 

[BlastoiseDad]

4 losses in last 5 fights.
36 years old.

If this is the exodus of top tier talent then I have no problem. About time the UFC trimmed excess fat.

I see where you're coming from, but he had a very close fight with Bendo and T furg (Dark Souls version) is no joke. Green is pretty alright too

 

[JKS]

Is Josh Thomson's departure for Bellator possibly the start of something big? If he can make triple (or more) the money in sponsors elsewhere.... and make roughly the same in base pay, why not?

This very well could be the exact moment when an exodus of top-tier talent jumps ship. I bet more guys with just one fight left on their contract will jump within a year. Or is this just a one off occurrence?

I dont think so, Josh is nearly 37 and they didnt think he was on top of his game anymore and in his prime. He lost 3 in a row in the UFC and 4/5, some close fights but he's still 1-4. He's had 7 fights in nearly 5 years and was 2-5

 

[runnpray]

Is Josh Thomson's departure for Bellator possibly the start of something big? If he can make triple (or more) the money in sponsors elsewhere.... and make roughly the same in base pay, why not?

This very well could be the exact moment when an exodus of top-tier talent jumps ship. I bet more guys with just one fight left on their contract will jump within a year. Or is this just a one off occurrence?

Top talent?? He lost three fights in row. He is 37? He got cut. Nothing to see here.

 

[AGEZ909]

This is just another example of Coker overpaying for expiring talent just like he did with Strikeforce. He ran that company into the ground with these kind of signings and apparently hasn't learned his lesson.

This is another example of a poster talking about something he obviously knows nothing about....

Ive stated this many times on this site, but your argument has been debunked 100 times over yet people like u hold on to it as if it were true.

 

[Local Plata]

Nope. The people that will be departing to Bellator are going to be a) ufc wash outs, or b) aging fighters past their prime/close to retirement that can get more money from Bellator just from name recognition for a few fights.

 

[HereticBD]

Hey, when journeyman Josh fucking Thomson leaves the UFC, you know it's serious business.


Are for real, TS? Josh Thomson is a nobody.

 

[AGEZ909]

Wouldnt call it an exodus until i see a legit (at least mid top level fighter) jump ship.. this deal is still raw. we will have to wait another year to see if fighters fight out their contracts and test the waters.. wouldnt be shocked if someone like bendo or kennedy made the jump... heard that bendo has been liking a ton of anti reebok posts on social media.....

we will have to wait another year or 1 1/2 to see the fallout.