Former UFC Welterweight Ben Askren has come out in support of forming a union in order for UFC fighters to receive “fair compensation.”
In a recent report from the New York Post it was revealed that UFC fighters received only 16% of the company’s revenue. In comparison to other major sports organisations in North America, UFC athletes receive a lot less pay than NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL athletes and many fighters are frustrated by this.
Other professional sports organizations in North America have a near 50/50 split in revenues between the owners and the athletes. As mentioned earlier, in the UFC that split is closer to 80/20 for the owners. According to “Funky” Ben Askren, MMA fighters need to form a union if they want to make a change for their own good.
Check out what Askren said on his Twitter:
“Maybe if they were smart enough to form a union or association like NBAPA or MLBPA they would have a chance at fair compensation. Until then no way!”
“Although I think this would produce results most aren’t thinking about. UFC would cut a large chunk of the roster to pay for increases in health care, etc and the stars pay would go up.”
The UFC has had to deal with many past attempts at creating a union by the fighters, most notably by Leslie Smith who was later released by the UFC.
It seems unlikely that a union could form in an individual sport like MMA, even with high-profile fighters calling for it.
This article first appeared on CLOSEDGUARDMEDIA.com on 1st March, 2020.
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