A group of five MMA fighters, highlighted by former UFC champ Georges St-Pierre, and former Bellator Chair & CEO Bjorn Rebney yesterday unveiled the MMA Athletes Association, a trade association they say will fight to increase UFC fighters' share of revenues from 8% currently to 50%. All five of the fighters -- St-Pierre, Cain Velasquez, Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone, T.J. Dillashaw and Tim Kennedy -- either currently or previously fought for the UFC, and they claim the MMAAA will seek a "settlement" from the promotion for undisclosed monies they say fighters deserve. They also will strive for other benefits that athletes in leagues like the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB enjoy. The association -- it was stressed yesterday it is not a union -- is for fighters that are under contract with the UFC and not any other promotion. WME-IMG, which owns the UFC, declined to speak on the comments made about the association and the agency during a two-hour conference call that was attended by about 100 journalists globally. The fighters said they were the lowest-paid pro athletes in the U.S., while they took on the most physical risk in helping to build the UFC, which was sold to WME-IMG for $4B in July. The MMAAA has its HQs in Anaheim Hills, Calif., and has retained prominent labor law attorney James Quinn, a partner at the Weil law firm, as counsel. Quinn over almost three decades has served as outside counsel to major North American labor unions, including the NFLPA, NBPA and NHLPA. The fighters said they expected to travel around the world to talk about the association to the UFC's more than 500 fighters. The MMAAA is being funded by individuals, but Rebney would not name them.
TWO YEARS IN THE MAKING: Rebney said the idea for the MMAAA was two years in the making. In addition to Quinn, there is other staff that will help to sign up fighters. "We have a full team of people who are working with us," Rebney said. "It's not just the guys at the table. There will be an entire team that will be crisscrossing the country and we are accessible. You can call us and we will answer any conceivable question you've got." The fighters said they expected to name other UFC fighters as members of the organization in the coming months. They also acknowledged that some fighters were afraid of joining an organization that was seeking to get a larger slice of the pie from the UFC. St-Pierre said, "I know a lot of fighters are afraid. But it's time to step up and do the right thing."
CAA NOT BEHIND GROUP'S CREATION: Four of the five fighters on the call are represented by CAA, a fierce rival to WME-IMG, and there has been speculation that CAA is behind the formation of the MMAAA. Rebney called those rumors false, saying, "CAA is not backing this venture. But, let's be super clear: They're supportive of the athletes because that is what real agencies are supposed to do. By definition, talent agencies, like WME-IMG, are supposed to scratch and claw 24/7, 365 to make the athletes and entertainers they represent more money. A bigger piece of the pie. They are agents. That's what their job is." The conference call was very hyped beforehand and very dramatic in-person. But although many journalists asked questions that were answered over two hours, it was not clear exactly how the MMAAA intended to force WME-IMG to agree to its terms. A trade association is not able to collectively bargain terms and conditions of employment or strike, although those methods were mentioned by members of the group on the call. Rebney said, "There is no substantial benefit to the fighters sitting here with me or the hundreds of other fighters in the UFC to lay out our comprehensive strategy so that the WME-IMG/UFC conglomerate knows what is coming and when. We have a well developed plan to win and a great team in place to orchestrate that plan to win. And you will see the results unfold in the coming weeks."
