Today (Wednesday, November 30th) is the day that we find out what the “industry redefining” announcement is all about, in a special conference call featuring the following names:
Former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre
Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez
Former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw
UFC welterweight contender Donald Cerrone
UFC middleweight Tim Kennedy
Bellator MMA founder and former CEO Bjorn Rebney
Cerrone has already put this pic of the whole team on Instagram:
There has been plenty of speculation as to what the conference call will be about. The leading prediction is that a fighters union or an association will be formed. That Bjorn Rebney apparently has registered the names mmaathletesassociation.info, mmaathletesassociation.net, and mmaathletesassociation.org is a pretty telling sign that the announcement at least includes that.
Bloody Elbow will have live updates of the big conference call, which starts at 4 PM ET/1 PM PT. Our own Michael Hutchinson will be on the @BloodyElbow Twitter account, and his tweets will also appear in this post.
Live updates
Tim Kennedy saying that he hoped that the success of the sport would have translated to more money for his fellow fighters.
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) November 30, 2016
Tim Kennedy says that there is no safety net in MMA for the fighters
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) November 30, 2016
Tim Kennedy: We’re here to never leave someone behind. The one sided system that the UFC has in place will be changed immediately
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) November 30, 2016
Tim Kennedy: “I’m proud to announce the official launch of the Mixed Martial Arts Athlete Association.”
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) November 30, 2016
Georges St Pierre now talking. Says that he may be viewed as a villain for bringing these issues up, but he wants change
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) November 30, 2016
GSP says that in most sports the money is 50/50 for athletes. In MMA it’s 8%.
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) November 30, 2016
Georges St Pierre says that even Conor McGregor isn’t getting his fair share
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) November 30, 2016
Cowboy Cerrone now admitting that he didn’t write a speech, but probably should have. Says he’ll speak from the heart instead
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) November 30, 2016
Cerrone talked about his fears and worries that he wants answers to. Medicals, job security, retirement. Kept it short.
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) November 30, 2016
Cain Velasquez talks about all of his major surgeries and how other fighters have to go through the same, with no retirement health plan
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) November 30, 2016
Bjorn Rebney: Hey guys, it’s been a while.
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) November 30, 2016
Bjorn: When the group that makes money hand over fist and the athletes responsible are asked to put their lives on the line…
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) November 30, 2016
… and they get paid pennies. Calls the UFC’s business plan outrageous.
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) November 30, 2016
Bjorn: CAA is not backing this venture, but let’s be clear, they are supportive. That’s what real agencies are supposed to do.
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) November 30, 2016
Bjorn is going off on the new UFC ownership, saying that they are focused on cutting costs, which will be from fighters
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) November 30, 2016
Bjorn on his history as a promoter: The most successful year I ever had as a promoter, I paid my athletes 53% of our revenue.
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) November 30, 2016
Cerrone says that this is a big risk and he has no fucking idea what’s going to happen, but will run until the wheels fall off.
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) November 30, 2016
GSP to fighters: I know you might be afraid, but it’s like a fight. You shouldn’t be afraid. TJ adds that it’s like pre-fight jitters
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) November 30, 2016
Bjorn wants to get a settlement for past wrongs, fair revenue split and severance package for fighters
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) November 30, 2016
Bjorn says that they are focused on the UFC and not other promotions.
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) November 30, 2016
Ariel Helwani asks Bjorn if there’s any other fighters on board. Bjorn says that we’ll be seeing new announcements in the coming weeks
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) November 30, 2016
Bjorn says that they have not reached out to the UFC as of yet, and that there is no reason to.
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) November 30, 2016
MMAAA says that they don’t want to outline the specifics of what they are doing so that WME doesn’t get a leg up on them.
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) November 30, 2016
Bjorn: Simply put, a union is the worst possible option. It would delay everything by 4 or 5 years.
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) November 30, 2016
Bjorn: No we are not forming a union, we are an association.
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) November 30, 2016
Really interesting. Bjorn brought up the option of a labor strike.
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) November 30, 2016
Tim Kennedy: The fighters are running this association. Period. End of story.
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) November 30, 2016
According to Kennedy, the MMAAA board is GSP, Cerrone, Cain, TJ and himself. Bjorn is just an advisor.
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) November 30, 2016
GSP: A lot of of agents and fighters will be threatened by the UFC. We’re not going to be bought to shut up
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) November 30, 2016
GSP: My lawyer told me I’m a free agent. But there are two sides of the situation. That’s all I can say.
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) November 30, 2016
GSP: For Conor McGregor, I can not speak for him, but from what he says in interviews, he’s aware of what’s going on
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) November 30, 2016
No exact answer to the question of who is funding the association.
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) November 30, 2016
Zach Light, former Bellator match maker, is on the team.
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) November 30, 2016
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