Thoughts on the New Pro Fighters Association Union

Following all the controversy of UFC 200, the fighters of the UFC have now unionized under the Professional Fighters Association. The talk of a union became more serious once Mark Hunt kept calling out the UFC for how they handled the Brock Lesnar situation. Lesnar along with Jon Jones are two of the biggest draws in UFC history and both cheated. Jones was taken off the card, while Lesnar was not even punished. A lot of outrage from fighters and fans sparked the talk of a union being a legitimate thing. The Union is being led by Jeff Borris, Lucas Middlebrook, and  Andrew Zimbalist. The PFA is also being endorsed by five major sports associations that consist of the. MLBPA, NFLPA, NHLPA, NBAPA and MLSPU. They are still seeking recognition from the National Labor Relations Act but I am thinking that recognition from them will only be a matter of time.

I believe this union is a great thing for the fighters. The fighters have made very little money compared to all the other sports organizations in the country. Here is a chart of the revenue splits between the four major sports and the UFC:

As you can see the UFC organization has gotten the better of the deal since the beginning. Even though fighters of the UFC only fight a maximum average of three times a year I believe they are being paid unjustly and that people like Dana White and higher executives are raking in more cash then they probably know what to do with. If a Collective Bargaining Agreement comes into play between the UFC and it’s fighter it will benefit the fighters in so many ways. The fighters will be able to provide better for themselves, give back to their gyms and maybe even give back to their communities. I also like this union because now it will hold the UFC accountable for what their fighters do and the union will also decide if the punishment is appropriate or not appropriate. I don’t think you’re going to see a Jon Jones or Brock Lesnar situation like you have so many times in the past. 

The other affect of the union I am curious about is how it will play out with UFC’s deal with Reebok. If the UFC has to share more revenue with it’s fighting I am wondering if they will try to re-negotiate with Reebok to get them to pay more for sponsorship in the company. I personally feel if the fighters would have been allowed to keep their own sponsors, wear their own gear and represent who they wanted I don’t even think this would have been an issue. When the UFC and Reebok struck their deal it made is so that the fighters couldn’t be seen wearing their own sponsors. This resulted in the fighters losing out on a lot of money and not being evenly compensated by Reebok or the UFC. So it would not surprise me at all if the UFC deal with Reebok has some major changes in the long run. 

I will be curious to how long it will take for this union to take full affect and how Dana White will respond to this new formation. The landscape of MMA is changing and I believe the change will be for the positive. For more information on the Professional Fighters Association check out http://profighters.org/