Here's the link I'm talking about
http://www.fightlinker.com/?p=3697

News Flash! <a href="http://www.fightlinker.com/?p=3697"Fabricio has no clue he got fired from the UFC

all this while ufc tickets continue to fucking skyrocket.
the same seats we paid 450$ each for 84 ill will are going for 600$
face value now.
fucking dana!

A fighters' union would be one of the dumbest ideas to happen to this sport. It would be terrible for the fans, horrendous for the UFC, and ultimately bad for the fighters at this stage.

Just ask Detroit. It is great when a bolt riveter gets paid $35/hr, gets mandatory 2 hour lunches, and can't lose their job through gross negligence of their duties; all to do a job that can be learned by your average, moderately trained monkey. All of that is great for the worker, right? Who wouldn't want higher pay and absurd benefits? But here's the thing... all the effort to 'look out for the workers' make the industry unsustainable and they no longer have jobs at all.

If fighters decided to unionize, they might be able to force some short-term benefits for themselves. But it would be at great expense to the UFC and to the consumer.

The UFC is currently the only organization spending any money to expand and grow the sport. They continue to push to open up regulation in all states, and are trying hard to expand internationally. Cutting deeply into their profits so Joe 'Undercard' can make a lot more will mean they will not likely continue those expansion efforts. It may even mean the destruction of their business model. The dead carcasses of all the MMA organizations that have attempted this business show that it is very difficult to build a successful and profitable model for business in MMA. If a union were to come in and force unreasonable demands, it could even crush the UFC's business model and cause them to go the way of their competitors.

Also, fans would have to endure strikes that would upset events and postpone matches. And don't think if the UFC's costs got up it wouldn't be passed on to consumers. We would be paying more for tickets, and possibly even PPV's. That might upset the UFC's revenue stream and put them in dire financial straights.

For fighters, they might quickly find they have nowhere left to fight if they unionize. Union demands won't fall exclusively on the UFC. Unions would drive up fighter contracts to the point where the UFC would be the only place that can afford to put on fights. Outside of the contracts, regional promotions almost certainly will not be able to provide healthcare outside of the immediate promises for injury care due to the fight itself.

So all of the people that would love the fighters to unionize to improve their treatment ought to consider what is more important: is it better for fighter's to get to make demands for better treatment, or is it better for them to actually have a job in the first place. The better treatment they seek could put them out of a job entirely. Just ask the autoworkers in Detroit.

No shit they need a union. Even the zit king sacking my groceries at the Piggly-Wiggly has better job protection than MMA fighters.

If unions are not to blame for Detroit's problems (they are) then you would expect to see every car manufacturer in the U.S. asking the government for money. Toyota, Honda and others have plants in the South and do not have unions. Guess what ? They are not asking the government for money. The difference ? Unions. Smarten up.

Dear Anonymous,

You know not of what you speak. The recession is only the latest issue for auto makers. For 30+ years, the bloated expenses for American automakers have been cutting into their bottom line. The single biggest source of this is excessively large Union contracts.

SUVs are an issue, especially for Ford, but that is only the latest of product mix mistakes they have made (see also Ford's squandering of the Taurus, GM's squandering of the Saturn line, et al). Unfortunately, many auto maker strategic and product missteps emanate from their need to cut costs due to their union contracts.

Again, look at US Steel, Bethlehem Steel, major mining operations, and other industries where union labor is a major player. Now look at NUCOR, Toyota, and other companies that play in the same space, but do not have union labor. Productivity, customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, and profitability all trend higher.

Oh, wait. This is an MMA blog. War Union busters! Put AFL-CIO in the arm bar! Rear naked choke on UAW!

Unions are famous for stealing money. How anyone could protect those lazy bastards is beyond me. $60/hr for operating a service elevator ! Join the union and you'll get it!

umm Unionize... just to let you know. What is happening with the major automobile markets right now has next to nothing to do with they're unions if you haven't noticed WE ARE IN A RECESSION!!(and just the beginning of it!) They are the biggest hit companies because their products are worth the most money, They are in decline cause everyone of these fucking little spoiled kids and this generation of wanting to have the biggest and baddest vehicles..(S.U.V.S) are now starting to smarten up and realize they are not the way to go as the Companies tried to keep up with the demand they completely got away from building CARS! and now they're in the hole because everyone's moving back to a more sensible sized vehicle. If youve noticed the plants that are closing are the Large truck and S.U.V.s

werdum sells zero ppv. the "no talent bums from the tv show", like the current LW champ, sell PPV and put asses in the seats. they are also part of some the best fights we've seen. there's a reason why ufc is doing well and NOBODY else is.


it might be better to structure the contracts, so they are performance - based. the fighters would know what to expect and have nobody to blame but themselves.

Keep in mind they give lots of undisclosed bonuses if you are winning so it works out.

Werdum is not worth $80g

overpaying fighters is why every other organization goes out of business. the ufc knows what it's doing and how to stay profitable. they gave him a chance to re-negotiate and he didn't. there are people with a lot tougher jobs than him with more education that make less.

^ lol

Indeed, Unions are the path to a successful product and job security.

Just ask the good folks at Ford, GM, Chrysler, and US Steel.

A union is a terrible idea. So, we will have to pay people like Fabricio more money than we currently do and when he shows up fat and dis interested in fighting, we can't fire him. No thanks! For those, who think a union is a panacea, look at the MLB. A guy like A-Rod gets $25m a year, in part, b/c of the union. That means it costs about $200 for a family of 4 to go to a baseball game. In the current recession, that means many people can't afford to go to a baseball game b/c the players union has so much power and has inflated contracts to an absurd level ($25m / year to play baseball) By all means, that's a great idea for the UFC! Think critically people.

Why pay Werdum when you can fill your cards w/ no talent bums from the TV show n pay em 8 grand, I love it give more credibility to the other shows their needs to be a pepsi to UFCs coke, I'd like to see Werdum/overeem.

who knows though junior dos santos could start going on a tear and start knocking everybody out ,maybe dos santos is the next big thing in the heavy weight division. And that punch that koed him was huge ive seen werdum take good punches and survive so i know hes got a decent chin .Werdums still a good fighter i bet he would even kick the shit out of couture.

gay! the heavyweight division of the ufc was all ready a joke and now they get rid of 1 of their 3 guys w any talent? noguerras gonna have to leave to find competition.

Am I the only one who notice how overweight, slow, and unmotivated this "$80,000-worthy" fighter was on his last outing. Did anybody else notice how quickly he got knocked out? Did anybody really get that PPV because Werdum was on it? The first thing I thought when I saw him enter the cage was, "Sheesh, he looks horrible."

Why would anybody want a union that says if my fighter comes in overweight, slow, unmotivated and puts on a poor fight you're not allowed to fire him or renegotiate his contract? That sounds exactly what the UFC doesn't need at this point. Right now fighters are hungry and they know that the UFC is the upper-echelon. They have to train hard, fight hard, and work hard if they want to stick around. I see no problem with that, whatsoever.

People, we are talking about the world of fighting here. It's a business with the shadiest history of all the main stream sports. It's obvious that Dana White is a prick, but he's still running the best show in town regardless of his dubious dealings. I have no love for the guy but he does a pretty good job keeping the sport together.

I wish that the fighters were all better paid and treated with the great respect for sure, but after seeing these other company's shit the bed it's clear that running a show like the ufc is no smooth ride.

The truth is that MMA is still very young sport and hopefully it evolves into a past time that is still entertaining for the fans and fair to the fighters. We certainly don't want to be complaining about overpaid lazy athletes that don't show up to fight. Look what happened to Chuck Liddell. After he made his millions he got lazy and lost that hunger that makes the sport exciting.

I'm not saying that fighters should be treated like shit or be paid poorly so they stay hungry, I'm just saying that the way the sport is right now it's still a hustle and there's gonna be some shady play from time to time.

OMG will all you whaaaaa the ufc will be the only game in town whaaaaa people Stfu! all you sound is stupid! The UFC is a business just like all other sports that make money. this ain't mens rec league for fucksakes. the UFC makes decisions based upon money not upon the fighters feelings or needs. just like the NFL or NBA. if you dont like what you are gonna be paid dont sign the contract. if you want to make more money then dont suck and dont lose its pretty godamned simple. you should all kiss the ground Dana White walks on because if it wasnt for him and his hard assed business sense there would be no MMA on tv and all these athletes that would most likely be pushing a shovel somewhere for less money than they are making doing what they love training and fighting. it took decades for NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and even boxers to get to where they were making decent money. Already there are guys making enough to live comfortably and support their families. christ most of these guys would be fighting for free in gyms garages and basements instead they are getting paid pretty damm well by an organization and a sport that is really still in its infancy. you can only pay what you can afford while at the same time growing your business if you do it the opposite way ie: elite xc and affliction you will not stay in business. Dana loves MMA and he loves the fighters if you dont see that your dumb. but he also keeps his eye on the prize to make the UFC as big as the NFL and MLB and he doesnt let personal feelings interfere with that. Thats whats required in running a successful business you should all try to remember that.

He got KO'ed, times are tough, he wasn't a big draw, and it's the UFC. What the fuck do you expect? Go out there, do work, hurt people, you get paid.

Get KO'ed for $80k like a bitch, what do you expect to happen.

I'd be surprised if his deal was ore than three fights in the first place, does anyone know the specifics?

Secondly, I wonder if the two sides' failure to reach an agreement had something to do with Werdum stating that the loss "changes nothing" with regard to an eventual title shot. Like, I wonder if Werdum's management wanted guarantee that Zuffa wouldn't give them.

Still shitty, but I think there's more to this story than simple bullying by the UFC.

They are all overpaid for the type of work they do. Go in that cage and beat each other up. That's it.
I make 120K a year and I have to figure out everyting besides spliting an atom.

LOL LOL LOL

To say a fighter's union will never happen is a bit farfetched. If you look at the article below you'll see agents banding together for the good of their fighters. It looks like a first step to me....

It's not just losing fights. It's him coming in out of shape and being a boring fighter. The NFL contracts are the same way...it's business. No one forces anybody to be a fighter.

As for the fighters union...Dream on. No leverage at all, never happen.

Agreed....Jardine can drop 2 in a row and still be fine because he's underpaid. I don't like him, but he's underpaid. Eventually they will be the only game in town and it will get organized. I can't wait for that day. The NFL comes to mind when I think about all this so hopefully they can come to some type of organization and put Dana in a sort of commisioner job.

Jardine fights for peanuts...
Fab wasn't an exciting fighter and he got KO'd. Not a good combo. And beating Brandon Vera doesn't look that great on his resume' all of a sudden.

First of all, I think NFL players get a portion of their contract regardless of whether or not they're cut, I'm not an agent, but I think that's how it works. Second, everyone complains about how shady the UFC dealings are, and how Dana is screwing all these fighters, but it's hard to argue with the fact that the UFC (as mentioned by CP) is pretty much the only game in town, so shouldn't we assume he's doing something right? (editors note: right and morally correct are not the same thing.)

Anybody want to get paid what they're worth and quit whining?

It's Dana? What do u expect?
It's Don King in the opposite uniform. Instead of black with high hair he's white and bald.

He's a genius, but an evil genius. The man has no heart, just desire for money and power.

All for a fighters union but to think that will keep stuff like this from occuring is silly.
Look at the NFL.
All players sign "Contracts" that promise an amount of $$ for an amount of time.
Yet even with a union they still dont mean anything.
How many players sign huge "Contracts" then dont perform and are cut the following year.
Still I agree that Werdum only has him self to blame. I also have to say that he really didnt do anything impressive with his time here. He beat Gonzaga who gassed BAD in that fight and Vera who sucks anyway.

My question is whether Werdum's contract was up after the Dos Santos fight or not.

Jardine better keep winning...

A fighter's union is long overdue, and these are some seriously shady UFC business tactics. Still, Werdum didn't do himself any favors by showing up looking like a bloated whale and getting KTFO.

I keep saying that's inevitable, but theres alot to a union that I'm not sure the guys are ready for. Union dues, insurance, etc. It is definitely needed. I like the UFC becuase of the fighters, but I don't like the way dana white does business. I keep waiting for it to bite him in the ass but it hasn't yet.

1 loss and the boot yet brock has 3 fights and is treated like a king wtf