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Leagues and Governing Bodies

Randy Couture Voices Displeasure On Capitol Hill Over UFC's Treatment Of Athletes

Former UFC fighter Randy Couture on Thursday "railed against the multi-billion-dollar company's control of athletes during a hearing on Capitol Hill," according to Alex Daugherty of MCCLATCHY NEWS. Couture: "A machine is basically printing money for them. They don’t want to give up that structure and that power. Me, I was fortunate to be in that top percent. I made a great living as a fighter. The mid- and lower-tier fighters, those guys that aren’t in the top 5 percent ... they struggle." Couture and UFC reps "testified before the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade." Couture appeared on Capitol Hill to "support expansion of the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act, a piece of legislation that became law" in '00 that protects boxers but not mixed MMA athletes from oppressive promoters. UFC "opposes the effort, and attempted to prevent Couture from testifying." Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) recently said that the UFC "threatened not to testify at the hearing if Couture was speaking." Mullin on Thursday "verbally sparred" with UFC VP/Athlete Health & Performance Jeff Novitzky, who "argued that the UFC protects its fighters through anti-doping measures." Novitzky: "We have the United States Anti-Doping Agency, which is the officially recognized anti-doping agency in the United States. ... We don’t police ourselves, we have an independent authority." Mullin then asked how Brock Lesnar got a "pass this past July to not have to test" before fighting in UFC 200. Lesnar later tested positive for a banned substance. Novitzky replied, "That’s not accurate that he got a pass in terms of testing." Mullin: "Yeah, I believe it is, I can submit that article for the record" (MCCLATCHY NEWS, 12/8). The CP noted former UFC fighter Georges St-Pierre said that "conditions for UFC fighters unbearable" and added he is "not interested in returning to the octagon until changes have been made." He said that he is an "exception in the sport, in that he is healthy and wealthy" (CP, 12/7).

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