Miturut: Rich Bergeron

You know the Reebok battle is getting heated when people are trashing the terms of the deal both figuratively and LITERALLY:

UFC Lightweight Contender Myles “Fury” Hakim tenan mbuwang pindah Reebok ing uwuh bubar kanggo nggawe titik ing kirim Twitter sing wis UFC Lowongan Honcho Dana “Ing Baldfather” Putih nangis gawe salah.

Apa ana liyane sing nuduhake bab kedadean, sanadyan, ana “Pakdhe Dana” ora mlaku ing kanggo ngukum fighter duwe pengarep-arep kanggo Disrespect blatant kang partner bisnis utama UFC. Iki ana wayahe banyu kanggo “Reebok kraman.”

Apa bisa Dana apa, sawise kabeh? Myles iki bener narik kaca tengen metu saka UFC Presiden kang handbook marketing dhewe. Hakim iki kang ing-pasuryan nyerang kanggo ngedol pitakonan kang. Dana sing ora saben dina.

Pejuang luwih-profil sing terus-terusan rubbing Pak. Putih cara salah dina iki nalika nerangake menehi hasil Reebok, lan sanadyan kang marang hakim lan Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone pass kanggo kritik sing anyar, he bit back against the likes of Brandon Schaub.

There may be a different kind of fireworks in July when this raw deal officially takes effect and all the fighters who don’t agree with Schaub and Jury start to realize their shortsightedness. Some of those UFC fighters might even regret not joining their peers on the unofficial public picket line when it might have actually mattered.

The worst part about this whole fiasco is the timing. The Federal Trade Commission is once again reportedly investigating the UFC in the wake of a series of high-profile Class-Action Anti-Trust complaints winding their way through the civil courts.

Iku hard ora kanggo pitakonan apa paling kuat campuran promosi seni bela dhiri donya kang overstepping wates ing dalan padha nyoba kanggo ngontrol saben aspek saka karir fighter kang. Iku misale jek kaya menehi hasil tenan ala ijolan dicokot sing sethitik saka dhuwit lan hak kanggo perang wonten ing banner UFC getih, ngetokake lan gon iku njupuk kanggo tetep ing ndhuwur game MMA dina iki. Malah dadi ing tengah Pack ing UFC iki omelan tantangan. Kong kudu miwiti kanggo takon piyambak nalika nambah nabrak bruises, dislocations, ligamen ambruk, Broken balung lan concussions dadi ala sing dhuwit ora Matter maneh.

What will happen when a tidal wave of former UFC fighters find out that the glory of having fought their hearts out for the fans isn’t paying the bills and/or sending their kids to college? What happens when the cushy medical coverage expires and your legendary fighter status means nothing to the doctors and the hospital billing you outrageous and astronomical fees to keep you healthy enough to live to old age?

Ask Marc Coleman. It’s not pretty.

The more the UFC fight or flight equation turns toward having no freedom to be an entrepreneur and no ability to build your own brand, the more Scott Coker’s phone is going to continue to ring off the hook. At least in Bellator, fighters can still have their own personal sponsors on their shorts.

They don’t throw all their fighters out for losing a few fights in a row, salah siji. They don’t publicly berate their fighters at post-fight press conferences for not putting on a show. They pay what they can, and they do their best to just be considered a UFC competitor.

Phil Davis may be the first of many UFC defectors that could begin to trickle in if this Reebok deal eliminates as much income and opportunity as it sounds like it will.

I am actually disappointed that Viacom isn’t making a bigger push to acquire more UFC fighters with more lucrative contracts, but no business wants to lose money. It’s harder for Bellator to gain massive revenues in return for their investments in their fighters due to the overhead of doing their own production for free television. Nanging, ing wektu sing padha, Coker and Bellator’s current management seems to actually care a little more about the people who do battle under their banner. They know better than anyone that your sponsors can really keep you alive.

Fighters who value their freedom and want a little more control over their careers might start to see the only UFC competition as a much greener pasture in the wake of this sneaker giant’s exclusive apparel contract. Apa wis mestine kanggo katon kaya langkah utama nerusake kanggo UFC bisa bener makili telung langkah bali kanggo organisasi iki sing wis berjuang karo dibatalake lan postponed gelut amarga utamané kanggo jumlah nambah ciloko latihan kanggo ndhuwur pejuang.

Mesthi kita ora bisa lali Mantan UFC cahya Abot Champion Jon Jones dinuga nabrak a SUV disewa menyang mobil wong wadon meteng lan bejat lengen sadurunge ngungsi pemandangan ing sikil. Iki durung liyane contone apes UFC ora cukup ngrawat bab pejuang sing. Carane bisa padha ora ngenali wong iki wis masalah sing perlu kanggo bakal ono wektu dawa sadurunge kedadean tragis binuka? Carane UFC bisa mbecikake ora gadhah testing tamba acak dhewe ing panggonan kaya olahraga profesional liyane? Carane sing ilegal obatan OK kanggo fighter kanggo nindakake metu saka kompetisi ing Panggonan pisanan? Sing digawe aturan karo loophole gaping ing wong-wong mau?

Georges St. Pierre wis salah siji saka kritikus paling vociferous UFC ing ngarep PED-testing. Mantan juara terus njagong ing sela-sela sawise siji gelut paling punishing karir mimpin wong kanggo ngumumke leren karo lawang mbukak ngiwa mung kokain. Mung sing godhongé amba, program testing tamba lengkap bisa nggawa wong bali saiki, St. Pierre njogo.

Malah pejuang kaya Ronda Rousey njupuk upset sethitik karo kontrol ngukur karir kang wielded liwat mau dening panggedhe bigwig sing. The UFC will not even let Ronda appear in a few scripted WWE events. Just because these skits last longer than some of her actual fights doesn’t mean they are much different than what she does in her movie career. Her UFC bosses are fine with her pursuing action movie roles, so why not a little fake wrestling? Maybe it’s the fact that WWE stole the Tapout brand and took it right out of the cage and into the wrestling ring. Maybe it’s jealousy that WWE has the kind of fan base that makes them a legitimate threat, and it’s the kind of fans the UFC desperately needs. Maybe it’s the fact that the UFC lost their chance at retaining Brock Lesnar’s services again and they are still getting over it.

Whatever the reason, the UFC is clamping down more and more on what fighters can and can’t do inside and outside the cage, and it goes far beyond fake wrestling. Contracts are becoming more and more restrictive in every way.

The UFC also used to foster a climate where no fighter would dare speak a foul word about management or any business deal management put in place. The punishment would be worse than a fine if Dana decided to give you the Brendan Schaub treatment in the press.

Complain, and you’d be called a coward or a bum. You’re not a team player, some ignorant fans will still say when you stick your neck out while under UFC contract. Nanging, iklim iki ora cukup kanggo mungkasi iki gelombang anyar sethitik saka protest sing bisa tuwuh menyang crescendo medeni mung sadurunge utawa sawise menehi hasil Reebok iki resmi dadi kasunyatan.

Minions mindless sing mada pejuang kanggo ngandika metu kanggo kapentingan dhewe paling mung mangan tengen metu saka tangan Dana putih kang, sanajan kang maringaken metu clurut racun. Iku nistha kang kokrungu lan kokdeleng supaya akeh wong sarujuk karo wong sing tau malah perang lan bab amatir resmi sembarang jenis tinimbang ngrungokake wong sing bener sijine ing gaweyan kanggo saingan ing malah siji perang kandhang profesional.

Nalika nerangake bab prakara apa iku pancene tegese “dadi F # $% ing fighter,” Dana bisa menehi kabeh pidato gawe salah-mouthed kepengin, nanging pejuang nyata sing mutahaké rahé kanggo taun wonten ing banner UFC sing diparingi sing wicara meaning nyata lan résonansi kanggo pembuangan sing saiki nyembah lemah Dana mlaku ing. Kanggo sisih paling, pembuangan iki mung kaya Putih supaya akeh amarga kang wuwus lan cusses kaya wong-wong mau. Isih, siji fighter UFC aku diwawancarai years ago marang kula ana soko salah karo olahraga nalika tokoh sing paling ditepungi ing MMA iku Dana White. Aku ora setuju liyane.

Ingatase hak bebas ora tembung dijupuk entheng, lan bebas wicara ora minangka free minangka iku digunakake kanggo dadi. Sampeyan mlebu ing garis bertitik kanggé maringi langkah ing kandhang UFC, lan sampeyan kudu muter dening aturan sing, malah sing gedhe-gedhe sing ora seneng utawa ora setuju karo. Sing cukup ala nalika sing ana mung pejuang masalah ngadhepi. Saiki, iku akeh Samsaya Awon amarga saka hasil Reebok lan ramifications lan efek ripple bakal nimbulaké.

Sawetara wong lali menehi hasil iki uga alienates sponsor dangu saka UFC lan pejuang sawijining. Mikir kabeh sing perusahaan apparel sing ora bakal bisa kanggo ngedol produk sing saiki ing hubungané karo acara resmi UFC. Mbesuk Kahanan UFC Fan Expo iku umpamane prima carane UFC mung ora koyone Care babagan bisnis lan backers sing mbantu sijine wong ing peta ing Panggonan pisanan.

Wong konco powerhouse iki Liga MMA bakal ndhewekake wong utawa klompok wong kanggo nggawe Buck mati mburi wong luwih piyambak. Hasil Reebok iki urip bukti sing. Even if all the money from the Reebok partnership does go to the fighters, all those businesses that end up locked out of fighter sponsorship deals will have to line up to sign exclusive contracts with the organization itself. Either that, or they will convert to Bellator supporters and follow burned UFC fighters to that organization.

Suddenly that second fiddle is sounding like it could steal the show, and my prediction that Bellator could fail looks premature and presumptuous now.

“So you want to be a f$%^ing fighter?”

Let me give you Scott Coker’s number.