Excuse me while I get on my soap box but I have something to say!
To all the fighters out there please pay attention... you must must must start to rally around the idea of a MMA Fighters Association. The other sports have it.
Baseball - Major League Baseball Players Association.
Boxing - Joint Association of Boxers
Basketball - National Basketball Players Association
Okay you get the idea. The whole point in having these "Associations' is to protect the physical and financial rights (salary scale) of athletes.
Looking at the payout from last weekends EliteXC fight is just shocking and another example of why fighters need to have at least some sort of minimum salary scale. Check it out.
The Main Card aired on CBS:
Robbie Lawler: $90,000 (which included a $45,000 win bonus)
def. Scott Smith: $14,000
Nick Diaz: $60,000 (no win bonus)
def. Thomas Denny: $8,500
Jake Shields: $45,000 ($10,000 win bonus)
def. Nick Thompson: $25,000
Cristiane Cyborg: $6,000 ($3,000 win bonus)
def. Shayna Baszler: $8,000
The Main Card aired on Showtime:
Antonio Silva: $200,000 ($100,000 win bonus)
def. Justin Eilers: $20,000
Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante: $20,000 ($10,000 win bonus)
def. Travis Galbraith: $5,000
Okay, EVERYONE that tuned in to watch "Unfinished Business" tuned in to see the unfinished business that was between Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith. I'm guessing 95% of the crowd in the Stockton arena came to see Nick Diaz (the local boy who is a celebrity in Stockton) and those of us that traveled from San Francisco came to show support for our local celebrity, Jake Shields. And yet Antonio Silva was paid more than Jake and Nick put together. How does that make sense?
I know there's a large amount of business experience and contract negotiation skills that are exercised when salaries are being discussed but shouldn't there be at least a common starting point?
The guys (and girls) that are on these major cards like this train their asses off and for what? $5,000? That doesn't even pay for the private boxing lessons.
This is the fastest growing sport and money is being made. Fighters are tested for drugs just like other athletes so they should demand the same type of respect and recognition. Fighters unite and unionize.
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