News UFC lawsuit docs reveal Joe Silva’s negotiation tactics with Nick Diaz, Jon Jones, Roy Nelson & plus

[BayAreaGuy]

If I recall they did shady tactics to Brandon Vera, like his manager asked for more money, then Silva (i think it was) gave a counter-offer of even LESS money as a 'screw you' type thing.

 

[Emjay]

You can't.. fighting is not like other sports it's way different it's the entertaining business via prize fighting, it's you against everyone else. This people will never team up and let's be honest who gets into fighting not the smartest people out there and they are all young to ad more insult to injury.

That's their fault then. Keep getting "screwed" by people smarter than you. No one to blame but yourself.

... with their own agenda and interest and your self interests isn't exactly on their priority list.

And it shouldn't be expected to be.

Then you have a situation like in MMA when you have a clear monopoly and you have to play by their rules and sign that shitty contract and hope you win and manage your way up the ranks and up the pay scale but you best believe they get half your career on the cheap. Fighting isn't also like most professions you have a limited window for your professional years: 10 years 15 or 20 if you are lucky but I'm sure they will pay for every single year and practice and fight they ever had when they are in their 50s and 60s all those sings should creep on them from' oh my back hurts when I get up in the morning' to 'oh my knees hurt when it's raining outside' to extremes like major CTE issues.

Yet they keep signing the contracts

 

[EndlessCritic]

Roy Nelson's manager is fucking retarded. Nelson got offered a great deal.

 

[TheSpider]

I don't see what is shady about this

It's his job to get the best deal for the promotion's side

Cmon bro. You’re a pretty respected member on this site. What kind of post is that?

U Fight Cheap for a reason

 

[Chris Gaines]

"In 2014 the UFC’s top lawyer Lawrence Epstein"

Not surprised.

 

[One MMA Fan]

But if they're signing the contracts that don't give them that, who's fault is that?

Of course they sign by their own free will and choice but you have to have some context.. you don't see you are kinda forced in a corner via the landscape of the 'sport', the company, the tactics used, the biggest circus in town etc etc everything is stacked against them and this won't change in our lifetimes.. heck it didn't for boxing and they been at this for a way longer time. At least their big names get their fair share but what those undercards fighters get is just shameful.

I'm sure the UFC would have done the same but looks so bad and so much bad PR if you get asked in interviews like Lorenzo about those smaller paychecks so they upped them a tad to seem 'civil' cause it will look silly to be welcomed into the 'big leagues' and get 3k or something like that.

I think this is the main reasons they sold for billions when they opened the books and saw they pay their talent with something around 15% of the pie they said anything else doesn't matter this is a gold mine. And I'm also convinced they put the pressure for the cherry on top for the UFC to drop them sponsors that was a move for the future and they didn't want to have to deal with it, now fighters are used to this no real sponsors the brake was made and not a lot of fuss that really counted was made over it in retrospect.

 

[Timurd123]

I'm about halfway through the article.

Fighters need better representation. You can't just sign ANYTHING then complain later about a context that you found yourself in that you don't like.

You know it’s not that easy

They are offered the contract, they cannot negotiate the terms beyond a tiny bit over pay, no one coming into the organization has any power in negotiations and literally 99% of the roster has about the same amount of power as we can see, only a small handful of guys get close to what they want

Take it or leave

 

[Emjay]

U Fight Cheap for a reason

Yeah, the reason is they keep signing the contracts.

Who signs shit like that? Either they're not reading the contracts, they're reading them but not understanding them, or those terms are satisfactory to them.

 

[Ace70 V2]

Lombard should have said "fuck you". He could always go make money in bellator or elsewhere and maybe get his mojo back.

 

[Emjay]

... and literally 99% of the roster has about the same amount of power as we can see

Imagine if that 99% was actually 99% and not 99, 1%

 

[Sausage_Carius]

Thing is

Silva is being scapegoated here but the reality he is far from the only one to blame here

Dana has said previously that he makes roughly 40-50 fights a year. When he calls you better answer and you better say yes. Also that he has a significant say in what weight class fighters fight at.

This also reinforces the proof that the UFC announcing fights that aren't signed and fighters calling out other fighters is a negotiation tactic. They want to control you from cradle to grave.

This is borderline WWE Vince shit except the fights are real.

If they are willing to bury popular fighters on prelims as a negotiation tactic then there's no limit what they are willing to do. Wouldn't put it past them to deliberately stack a card with filler fights then tell the offending main eventer that it did poorly so they will offer less for their next fight.

 

[One MMA Fan]

That's their fault then. Keep getting "screwed" by people smarter than you. No one to blame but yourself.



And it shouldn't be expected to be.



Yet they keep signing the contracts

Eh very superficial way to look at things.

You would have probably done the same in their shoes.. they don't really give you many options.. Ben Askren fought them for 10 years and eventually he got there but he is playing by their rules like the rest of them and he pulled all the strings from perfect record 20-0 or wtf he had to Joe Rogan blowing smoke up his ass for years on his millions listened podcast etc etc.. and after 10 years he got 200k show purse in the biggest MMA promotion on the planet.. neck and neck with soccer my ass.

 

[Timurd123]

Imagine if that 99% was actually 99% and not 99, 1%

We can dream

 

[One MMA Fan]

But if he sold over 600k in PPV’s (top 25) he would made 1.1 mill ! Before taxes and agency, training fees

A boxer doing 600k PPV buys would have got 10 times more.

 

[Soul On Ice]

He’s bullying the fighters by asking them to take less money or he’ll feed them to very difficult opponents and then cut them when they lose.

“Pay him 38 plus 38K, or throw him to a really tough guy on the prelims and cut him!”

Dana denied that they ever try to get guys to lose on purpose to diminish their value.

It doesn't say cut him, it says for his last fight.
If the 2 sides can't see a long term agreement I don't see a problem with the UFC doing that
They are protecting their brand
Should they give a fighter who intends to dip a favourable match up on the main card instead
Makes no sense to build up a guy for a rival org to then scoop him up.

 

[Sausage_Carius]

I'm about halfway through the article.

Fighters need better representation. You can't just sign ANYTHING then complain later about a context that you found yourself in that you don't like.

It's by design. Game Theory:

 

[skysolo]

The fighters have known this for a long time. But have done nothing.

What can mere mortals do?

 

[Workaholic]

And some of you goofs still think guys like Ali and Malki are good at their jobs



MMA agents are a fucking joke

 

[skysolo]

It's by design. Game Theory:

Thanks for posting someone else's opinion instead of your own.

 

[Threetrees]

That's their fault then. Keep getting "screwed" by people smarter than you. No one to blame but yourself.



And it shouldn't be expected to be.



Yet they keep signing the contracts

Their choices are essentially
1) Get screwed.
2) Don't work.
3) Try your luck in a weak open market