There should be new law specifying the UFC contract

[El Fernas]

Exactly. Why should a promotion invest in someone who may never return?

They need to have belts and promotions split, MMA has grown too much for its own good, fighters in boxing can be tied to their promoter, but belts are not owned by the same guy, thats the issue, the UFC as a promotion should be able to promote a guy for every belt there would be, that way their investment doesnt just leave, with the UFC model all they have to do is make sure big names are always under contract so it doesnt matter who wins, both guys work for them, even if some planned matchups endup being screwed, they can still promote the winner.

 

[El Fernas]

Huh? I’m not exactly sure what you mean here. UFC pay is stable. All the pay for the duration of you contract has already been agreed upon before the fighters signed. The same way all the pay a football player is agreed upon before the season.

Im almost sure that the pay set in stone only applies for the not so big and below names, others might have a lot of leeway when it comes to pay so they can "demand" more money even if pay is already in their contract, just like Dana has said, he cant force anyone to fight, so money cant be a fixed number if the fighter has some name value.

 

[Billthebutcher]

Easiest way out of a UFC contract is straight losses. They cut you and release you from the contract.

 

[CC27]

Uh there is a time limit on the contracts, its x amount of fights or x amount of months whichever comes first.

BUt if you turn down a fight it extends 6 months and if you retire under contract it freezes. Its the same contracts Bellator has and other promotions.

 

[CannotWin]

But you will??? Yes they have a manager with them, buy time and time again the problem rears its ugly head. To have GSP/Jones locked in until they fight off the contact is crazy. Also the contract should work both ways, the fighter should be able to hold the UFC accountable on there end to. Why can the UFC cut a fighter at the drops of a hat but the fighter can't do the same????

Because both parties agreed to it. Literally. Dont you live in the real world?

 

[gunlok]

wwe had similar no-compete clause, Brock Lesnar went to court and demolished them, if you have money on lawyers, these contracts are probably can be overridden. If not, then well...

 

[sutherland]

Because both parties agreed to it. Literally. Dont you live in the real world?

It's either agree or find a new line of work, the UFC has monopolyed MMA for too long now(it's starting to get better).

 

[kellier]

Independent contractors sign contracts, ideally with agents/managers/lawyers involved in the terms & conditions.

Duration is negotiable so it swings both ways. Longer deal gives guaranteed income for longer. Lower tier fighters who were stuck making peanuts in regional shows would love this.

On the flip side, established stars might see other promotions as opportunities which they can't explore.

Don't complain about a contract mid term when its not as favourable as at the outset. Both parties agreed to it

 

[blaseblah]

Aren't most professional sports contract like this?

Though I do agree on some sort of time limit or number of fights, whichever comes first. Of course, fighter pay is the biggest issue that needs to be addressed. Can't have top fighters working a second job to help cover living expenses

Stipe chooses to be a fireman, he isn't doing it for the money.

 

[kflo]

Ali Act needs to apply to MMA...it makes no sense why it doesnt.



We need to pressure the biden administration.

the ali act as is doesn't really work for mma. need a new law, not the ali act.

 

[avenue94]

The issue for the UFC is fighters can just sit out to get more leverage. Having contracts for x number of fights is normal. It is actually easy to get out of a UFC contract, you simply need to take the fights and not sign a new contract. The UFC is obligated to offer you fights in the contract so you can't just hold on to a fighter indefinitely. Dana once mentioned he had to offer at least 2 fights a year with 2 options for each fight.

So how does, say, a champion get out of their contract?

 

[kflo]

Yes but that team can't just cut you. They would have to pay out your contact. You're comparing apples and oranges

not with the nfl....

 

[SuperNerd]

TS is saving MMA

 

[Tito Tapped]

The thing is, it’s a double edged sword. The Ali act would protect fighters more no doubt but with that comes the entertainment factor and fans missing out. One thing the UFC can do is limit ducking from other fighters. Boxing is completely rife with ducking and a lot of fighters actively avoid one another, PAC and Mayweather happened about 5/6 years after it should’ve and Manny was on the decline. The fighters win or the fans win really

How does the UFC limit ducking? By threatening fighters when they don't take fights? By holding long term promotional contracts over fighters heads giving them control of that fighters career for the next 2-4 years?

Don't you think just maybe we'd get as good, if not better, match ups if promoters had to bid against each other?

 

[jx820]

There should be also the time expiration, like you can´t sign contract which would have effect longer than 2 years.

How would you feel about signing a contractor to build an expansion on your house. You give him a 50k deposit but there is a time limit built into his contract that even if he never works, even if he's half done, the contract is complete in a year.

Would you consider that a fair contract?

 

[avenue94]

How would you feel about signing a contractor to build an expansion on your house. You give him a 50k deposit but there is a time limit built into his contract that even if he never works, even if he's half done, the contract is complete in a year.

Would you consider that a fair contract?

Odd analogy given that fighters earn zero money sitting out.

 

[1s1k]

Ali Act needs to apply to MMA...it makes no sense why it doesnt.



We need to pressure the biden administration.

They can’t as my run a PTA meeting so do you really want them negotiating with billionaires who do it for a living.

 

[jx820]

Odd analogy given that fighters earn zero money sitting out.

That's not accurate, and either way it's irrelevant to the point.

If the UFC incurres expenses, marketing costs, runs ads, pays lawyers to spend time on contrasts, pays match makers to put together offers, they are incurring costs for every fighter they sign. The fighter can decide to produce 0 retun on investment, and exit the contract at the end of term.

So my question is would you be willing to sign a contract that absolutely costs you money for which the other party can deliver on as much or as little as they see fit and exit as if they had fulfilled their commitments. It's pretty straight forward.

 

[kflo]

How does the UFC limit ducking? By threatening fighters when they don't take fights? By holding long term promotional contracts over fighters heads giving them control of that fighters career for the next 2-4 years?

Don't you think just maybe we'd get as good, if not better, match ups if promoters had to bid against each other?

even boxing doesn't have purse bids for 99% of the fights.

 

[avenue94]

That's not accurate, and either way it's irrelevant to the point.

If the UFC incurres expenses, marketing costs, runs ads, pays lawyers to spend time on contrasts, pays match makers to put together offers, they are incurring costs for every fighter they sign. The fighter can decide to produce 0 retun on investment, and exit the contract at the end of term.

So my question is would you be willing to sign a contract that absolutely costs you money for which the other party can deliver on as much or as little as they see fit and exit as if they had fulfilled their commitments. It's pretty straight forward.

Yeah, your analogy is nonsensical.
-Marketing costs are 10 percent annually and it's concentrated on a small percentage of main card fighters. Most fighters aren't even on the radar of the marketing department.
-the rest of those costs are effectively fixed. It's not like the UFC brings on new matchmakers for every card or new lawyers. Those are all in house costs spread out over 600 fighters. Broken down by individual fighters, it's insignificant.

So yeah, if I'm the UFC, it doesn't cost me much money to bring guys under contract. That's kind of the reason the UFC has such a massive roster and doesn't cut guys who retire or are sitting out for whatever reason.

Also, most fighters aren't even an investmentz they're just fodder to fill out prelims so the UFC can get it's contract money from ESPN.