UFC Business Ethics

[sparkyjohannsen]

Sup Ya'll
I'm doing a final paper for a Business class where I am analyzing the business ethics/practices of the UFC, both good and bad. Business ethics, for anyone who doesn't know, refers to the moral and ethical practices of a business, and how the organization and its employees conduct themselves.

So far, on the bad side, I have listed the Reebok deal (eliminating income from other sponsors), lack of retirement plans, bashing of fighters by the president, and steroid issues (PED usage, cover-ups of fighters like Vitor having elevated T levels), although they ARE cleaning things up with the stricter testing now.

On the good side, I have the fact that they offer free cards from time to time, health insurance, performance of the night bonuses, and they have started employing strict drug testing. I'm sure there are more that I just haven't thought of yet, so I'm wondering if anyone can point out any more business practices, good or bad, that I haven't mentioned.

This is not an thread to bash UFC/Zuffa, I am literally just starting this paper and these are a few things I thought of off the top of my head. I haven't done any thorough research yet, just looking for some outside input.

 

[Luger]

They have ethics?

 

[Hamburglar]

You only found positive..lol

 

[Hans Gercmiov]

They don't have to give away $200,000 every card.

 

[Zefram Cochrane]

expect a phone call from Dana to your teachers, TS. He is a vengeful one.

 

[yermajesty]

[YT]wRT62J80iyI[/YT]

 

[sparkyjohannsen]

They don't have to give away $200,000 every card.

Oh yeah the fight bonuses, there's one!

 

[Corleone187]

http://www.fightopinion.com/2013/11/21/ufc-world-fucking-domination/

 

[sparkyjohannsen]

http://www.fightopinion.com/2013/11/21/ufc-world-fucking-domination/

That's some good stuff, thanks.

 

[csroster]

Business is no place for ethics.

 

[mma2013]

the good: performance/fight of the night bonuses.

the bad: the fighters has to give the ufc the right to use their image into perpetuity without receiving fair compensation.

 

[clayj]

Sup Ya'll
I'm doing a final paper for a Business class where I am analyzing the business ethics/practices of the UFC, both good and bad. Business ethics, for anyone who doesn't know, refers to the moral and ethical practices of a business, and how the organization and its employees conduct themselves.
So far, on the bad side, I have listed the Reebok deal, fighter pay, lack of retirement plans, bashing of fighters by the president, and steroid issues (PED usage, cover-ups of fighters like Vitor having elevated T levels).
On the good side, I have the fact that they offer free cards from time to time, and after that I'm coming up short. I'm sure there are more that I just haven't thought of yet, so I'm wondering if anyone can point out any particularly GOOD business practices of the UFC, or any bad ones that I may have missed.

How are arguing that figher pay is bad when they pay more than anybody else?

How are you arguing that the Reebok deal is bad?

Retirement plan? If you have one fight in the UFC they should pay your retirement?

They do pay health insurance.

 

[mrpvivian]

Might be a good idea to look at the Reebok deal in two ways. On the one, the UFC did have a lot of big names complain about losing money but has there been any lower ranked guys say much? I haven't looked that deep into the deal personally but maybe for a guy ranked outside of the top 25 the deal might be beneficial and might be seen as a positive.

 

[KeepItRealist]

Not paying for medicals says a lot about them as an organization.

And apologists often forget that their famous health insurance policy only covers injuries directly related to training in the weeks leading up to a fight and right after. That's a big asterisk on it that never gets mentioned.

It's not like standard employee health insurance that covers any kind of illness or injury as well as other family members, it's the absolute cheapest they could find.

Forcing fighters to sign away their likeness rights for life in exchange for nothing is mafia business practices.

 

[Krayd]

[YT]wRT62J80iyI[/YT]

LOL first thing I thought of when I read "business ethics"

 

[clayj]

And apologists often forget that their famous health insurance policy only covers injuries directly related to training in the weeks leading up to a fight and right after. That's a big asterisk on it that never gets mentioned.

It's not like standard employee health insurance that covers any kind of illness or injury as well as other family members, it's the absolute cheapest they could find.
.

what other mma organizations are paying health insurance?

 

[AronaBeatsJones]

Spoiler

Beaten to it, but...

Business ethics?

 

[KeepItRealist]

what other mma organizations are paying health insurance?

What other organizations are grossing between $500-$600 million a year. That should answer your question.

 

[AronaBeatsJones]

Also, a while ago I tried to compile a list of UFC's good deeds vs. bad deeds: http://forums.sherdog.com/forums/f2/ufcs-scroll-good-deeds-bad-deeds-3056271/

GOOD DEEDS​

​

​

2005: High-Risk Investment

• Reward: dumping tens of millions of dollars on "The Ultimate Fighter" and bringing top stars like Ken Shamrock, Tito Ortiz, and Royce Gracie back to revitalize MMA ended up being a huge success and led to the boom period in the mid-late '00s, resulting in dozens of fighters becoming big stars and making good money, IE: Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva, Jon Jones, etc.
• Consequence: increased market capitalization of the mixed martial arts industry gave Zuffa enough money/power to achieve a virtual monopoly (see below).

2011: Health Insurance

• Reward: healthier fighters + less financial stress.
• Consequence: endless chain of bout cancellations due to injury: creating frustration with fanbase and possibly causing irreparable damage with fan loyalty.

2015: PED / Weight-Cutting Crackdown

• Reward: good publicity from the UFC's proactive approach to reduce PED usage + weight-cutting.
• Reward: possibly healthier fighters + less brain injuries.
• Reward: possibly normalized performances between fighters in the same weight class.
• Consequence: possibly massive PED failures + bout cancellations.
• Consequence: possibly large wave of bad publicity for the UFC when fighters get popped.

BAD DEEDS​

2007: Virtual Monopoly

• Reward: all top fighters housed under one promotion + easier to book fights between top fighters.
• Consequence: purchase of PRIDE FC, WFA, WEC, Strikeforce, etc. limited the free market for mixed martial artists; gave Zuffa absolute power for things like restrictive contracts and forced sponsorships (see below).
• Consequence: UFC currently being sued by numerous ex-fighters due to antitrust allegations.
• Consequence: UFC currently being investigated by the FTC due to virtual monopoly and business practices.

2008: Restrictive Contracts

• Consequence: (exposed by AKA dispute) fired Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck, Vain Velasquez, and all AKA fighters due to their refusal to sign over their names/likeness for the UFC to profit off of in perpetuity.

2015: Forced Sponsorship Exclusivity (The Reebok Deal)

• Reward: cleaner presentation + professionalism.
• Consequence: forced exclusivity: fighters unable to wear other sponsors during fight week.
• Consequence: poor compensation: fighters receving a pittance in exchange for exclusivity.
• Consequence: massive backlash: poor fighter treatment and high price of fight kit merchandise has antagonized the promotion in the eyes of their fanbase.
• Consequence: bad publicity: Stitch Duran firing due to mild comments about the Reebok deal caused a wave of bad publicity for the UFC; Reebok forced to make statement.

 

[clayj]

What other organizations are grossing between $500-$600 million a year. That should answer your question.

Viacom dwarfts Zuffa and they don't offer health insurance to Bellator fighters.