News Pro-Ali Act Anderson Silva Talks Fighter Pay with Weidman: "Why Don't [UFC] Respect the Fighters"

[justalurker]

Pretty much confirms what I had always felt. WME is all about entertainment and Hollyweird so it's no surprise that there's no integrity in the sport:

Faces you would trust......... Greedy morherf...s

 

[avenue94]

I had all the respect in the world for anderson but now i have even more. For things to change, fighters have to talk about it. The ones still fighting have reason to be scared and dont want to lose their jobs so i have a very hsrd time blaming them but those that have retired should speak up.

God bless you Anderson! We love you forever.

It's a good start, but, not to be a Debbie Downer, if he's serious about this he'll actually lobby Congress or do something more tangible than just complain in a relatively obscure podcast. No disrespect to the dude, but I think you get what I mean.

 

[CaptHANDSUP]

It's a good start, but, not to be a Debbie Downer, if he's serious about this he'll actually lobby Congress or do something more tangible than just complain in a relatively obscure podcast. No disrespect to the dude, but I think you get what I mean.

I think thats a tall order for a guy who is a pro-fighter and isnt a multimillionaire that can afford lobbyists that are strong enough to fight the ufc lawyers. The fact that he is raising awareness as the UFC goat is already a big help for fighters currently competing.

Itd be nice if he tried to get some sort of group together so they can coordinate as a team. Im sure gsp would love to help him because he is another guy who always talks bad about the ufc. Thatd be a powerful duo, people would notice. And im sure itd lead to change if they were persistent and kept at it.

 

[avenue94]

I think thats a tall order for a guy who is a pro-fighter and isnt a multimillionaire that can afford lobbyists that are strong enough to fight the ufc lawyers. The fact that he is raising awareness as the UFC goat is already a big help for fighters currently competing.

Itd be nice if he tried to get some sort of group together so they can coordinate as a team. Im sure gsp would love to help him because he is another guy who always talks bad about the ufc. Thatd be a powerful duo, people would notice. And im sure itd lead to change if they were persistent and kept at it.

What I was getting at was the group already exists (a few actually), and they've been busting their butts for the past several years to try and get some changes without any starpower really. Also Silva is a multimillionaire. But at any rate, I hope to see him in front of Congress the next time there is a hearing on the Ali Act or the fighters go to the Capitol to lobby. I won't knock him for only speaking up after he finished in the UFC, it's better than never.

 

[MCS]

Lorenzo gets praised a lot for his people and business skills, but he's the father of the 80/20 revenue split. What they get now stems from his view of company growth via not paying fighters.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

Lorenzo gets praised a lot for his people and business skills, but he's the father of the 80/20 revenue split. What they get now stems from his view of company growth via not paying fighters.

Yeah I don't get why fighters praise Lorenzo either. The Fertittas set the tone, then sold the company and ran off with the fighters money.

They should get far more shit than they do imo.

 

[avenue94]

Yeah I don't get why fighters praise Lorenzo either. The Fertittas set the tone, then sold the company and ran off with the fighters money.

They should get far more shit than they do imo.

It's the perks of paying off the higher tier fighters and having charisma. Silva thinks the good treatment he got is what ever UFC fighter got, and that's just not true.

 

[kenetics]

After they discuss their injuries, Anderson Silva discusses the UFC and fighter pay at length. It's interesting because Silva, for my memory, is by far the most famous UFC fighter to not only raise the larger fighter pay issue but also express support for the Ali Act in mma.

Also, so to the thread isn't all doom and gloom, Silva mentions that he called Jon Jones to get his blessing to replace him against Cormier at UFC 200, which is peak Silva and goddamn hilarious.


Cliffs (starts about 23 min)
-"Of course I make a lot of money with UFC, but it's not comparable to how much I make for the UFC." The UFC gave him fame, but "Why don't you pay me correctly?"

-"UFC is a very strong brand, but UFC is nothing when you don't have you [Weidman], me, or the fighters."

-"Me and you and the older fighters make a lot of success for the UFC and give the UFC a lot of power [he's talking about the UFC's market power here, not actual power between fighters/promoter]." Wonders how many fans keep watching because they saw their two fights, and mentions how the UFC still makes money off of them.

-Complains about lack of health care for retired fighters, says he's lucky because he saved money. Implies the UFC did Jacare dirty by not resigning/releasing him out right after he got his arm broken.

-Older mma promotions didn't have the power the UFC had. Interesting given Silva fought in Pride.

-Says UFC changed after WME purchase, didn't feel like home. Lorenzo made the UFC feel like family. Implies that WME doesn't understand the fight business/martial arts

-Says it's strange that the UFC doesn't put everything [I assume he means financials] on the table, but answers his question by saying it would give fighters too much power.

-Mentions that fighters don't talk about these issues because they're scared. Weidman jokes that's why he hasn't said a thing yet and is only listening.

-Silva hints that he didn't get along with Dana because he would speak his mind.

-Silva says the new generation needs to wake up and realize that the UFC hasn't gotten better.

-Silva considers the UFC both a singular promoter and manager. [Pretty significant opinion because that's an Ali Act violation in boxing]. He, no surprise, prefers the promoter landscape in boxing.

He wasnt very good when he was in pride so makes sense he would say that.

Until this day, pride had the most people in attendence watching there shows compare to the UFC .

 

[avenue94]

He wasnt very good when he was in pride so makes sense he would say that.

Until this day, pride had the most people I'm attendence watching there shows compare to the UFC .

He was decent enough and would have presumably also based his impression on their treatment of his far more popular teammates.

 

[thehighking]

Wow, what in the hell.

Seems like when stars are near the end, they get thrown these extra incentives to keep going.

Conor is pretty much the only guy that can scoff at the UFC. So I wonder what the UFC will do to keep him fighting and bringing in that PPV revenue, no way are they gonna let him go easily, he's too valuable.

I don't think Conor is as valuable as he once was. After several losses plus being at the tail end of his career. Another loss to Poirier could be his last MMA fight.

 

[JoshTehV]

Anderson is correct. I'm glad he's now free to do other things, including boxing, and can take care of himself and his family. The lack of respect shown to fighters by Dana is embarrassing.

to think we got fucked out of Silva vs Roy Jones Jr, and maybe Mayweather or even someone like Usyk

 

[Eric Silva 2.0]

Would you want your boss to have this much control over your career?
1. He or she can break the contract anytime.
2. If you try to leave at the end of the contract, your boss has the option to block you from leaving by adding $1 more than the competing offer.
3. You cannot have sponsors on your clothes. You have to sign away your likeness for a video game for the rest of your life.
The UFC holds all the cards.

NFL players on losing teams still make millions of dollars.
NBA players who sit on the bench as backup still make millions of dollars.
Baseball players who are injured for the season still make millions of dollars with a guaranteed contract.
But the UFC can cut you for any reason and not give you healthcare or a pension.

The UFC is a C-tier sports organization when teenagers think about being a professional athlete.
"...revenues going to fighters as compensation ranged from 18.6% to 20.3%".

The worst part is in the details. Silva is doing all the talking and Weidman can't say a word. If he does he'll face the retribution of Dana. How does a strong, 37 year old professional athlete who is a former champion get silenced by his boss because he is afraid? It's a very sad way to live, scared to talk because he has to feed his family. Is it worth it to be silenced and terrified to talk? Must be a hard way to live.

 

[Eric Silva 2.0]

Yeah I don't get why fighters praise Lorenzo either. The Fertittas set the tone, then sold the company and ran off with the fighters money.

They should get far more shit than they do imo.

I'm sure the fighters cashed out in the deal as well. Their profit sharing must've kicked in.

 

[alexxx]

VERY cool podcast shit had me emotional not gonna lie.


also impressed by the Spiders English, thought it was much worse !


liked & subscribed to the Chris podcast, dude is great on the mic !

 

[BalloonFoot]

Its crazy how many UFC shills are in here and continually take Dana's bitch ass side when it comes to fighter pay. Perfect example is the Jon vs Ngannou thread where so many were taking Dana's side of lack of fighter pay. Jon vs Ngannou would one of the biggest fights ever, yet Dana wants to get 90% of the cut and have them fight for peanuts.

Dana want that snow white.

 

[GordaoPreguico]

You all act like this is the first time he’s bitched about pay. He held up a lot of fights asking for more pay.

 

[kflo]

Would you want your boss to have this much control over your career?
1. He or she can break the contract anytime.
2. If you try to leave at the end of the contract, your boss has the option to block you from leaving by adding $1 more than the competing offer.
3. You cannot have sponsors on your clothes. You have to sign away your likeness for a video game for the rest of your life.
The UFC holds all the cards.

NFL players on losing teams still make millions of dollars.
NBA players who sit on the bench as backup still make millions of dollars.
Baseball players who are injured for the season still make millions of dollars with a guaranteed contract.
But the UFC can cut you for any reason and not give you healthcare or a pension.

The UFC is a C-tier sports organization when teenagers think about being a professional athlete.
"...revenues going to fighters as compensation ranged from 18.6% to 20.3%".

It’s not accurate to say they can cut you at any time for any reason.

Nfl players sign away likeness rights to video games as well. Yes, mma fighters make less money. They aren’t as valuable of a commodity. Unfortunately.

 

[kflo]

Lorenzo gets praised a lot for his people and business skills, but he's the father of the 80/20 revenue split. What they get now stems from his view of company growth via not paying fighters.

This is exactly true. They could have changed the dynamic before they sold, but instead they ensured it perpetuated.

 

[TheBulge]

This is exactly true. They could have changed the dynamic before they sold, but instead they ensured it perpetuated.

If they did then they wouldn't have been able to sell it for that amount.

 

[tech99]

Meh, you get paid what you’re worth. Nobody wants to watch the majority of the UFC roster and that’s why they get paid peanuts. Actually finish fights and be exciting, learn to market yourself and have some personality and you will get paid more. Literally 90% of the ufc roster could get canned tomorrow and i wouldn’t care because they are so boring. Half the time these fights look like sparring matches.