Plenty of words have been spilled upon the battlefied that is the internet over the UFC’s treatment of fighters, their pay and undercard benefits for those coming up. Malki Kawa, manager of Ben Henderson, Jon Jones and many other fighters, including lower tier fighters, has come out and explained that the UFC isn’t that bad at all. In fact, it’s better than all of the other options, but that still, at least in my opinion, doesn’t help matters. This is a snippet of a conversation Malki had with MMAJunkie, in which he says things aren’t really as bad as they seem.
“When I watch these guys talk about the UFC and how their boss doesn’t put stress on them, a lot of it to me is just a lot of bulls—,” said Kawa. “I know Dana White can be abrasive and aggressive and all that type of stuff, but it doesn’t mean you’re not able to work with the guy.”
“I represent undercard guys, main-event guys and champions. The champions are getting paid pretty well, and most of my guys that deserve it are getting it. But the guys that deserve more money aren’t the undercard guys. They’re the guys that are carrying these cards, the headliners and the co-main event guys… When you’re a guy that’s on an undercard and says, ‘Well, I’m 3-2 in the UFC, and I only made this amount of money over two years,’ it’s a little bit unfair.”
“When you add it all up and you take your sponsorships into consideration, if you’re winning, you’re making a six-figure salary or pretty close to it. And if you’re not, it’s because you’re losing and don’t deserve to be there anyway.”
“Bellator and TNA are both, at the end of the day, second-tier organizations. No disrespect to any performer there or any fighter. It just is what it is… When a fan sits down and looks at it and says, ‘Aren’t you happy Bellator is around so you have a second option?’ well, a second option would be great if they were paying what the UFC is paying guys. It would be great if there was an opportunity across the board for other guys equally.
“You look these Bellator cards, guys are getting paid like regional fighters. Guys are making $2,000 or $3,000… When I hear Bellator starting it up and knocking the UFC’s practices and talking about how their tournament style is better and this or that, it just kind of angers me a little bit. They had no part in helping MMA get to where it’s needed to get to at all.”
“When you see former Bellator fighters come to the UFC, they’ll tell you that the biggest difference between the two organizations is the way the fighters get treated. The UFC has never, ever done any of my fighters dirty, and I’m not going to sit back and just listen to all the criticism, especially from people who don’t have all the facts.There’s always two sides to every story.”
As I read on Twitter: “what manager in any other sport says they’re clients are getting paid enough?” The lower-tier fighters still don’t make enough cash in the premier fighting organization to hold that as their sole job. It’s like that in no other sport.
For example:
A lot of people seem to think we need a union,” Kawa said. “What I don’t think they realize is that with unionization, like in football, the managers and the athletes are both regulated by these unions, and everything ends up becoming slotted. So you fall into a slot, and that’s what you get paid. Unless you’re at the very top of the game, that’s just what you’re getting paid, and you really don’t have an opportunity to make more money. There’s a minimum standard set, and because of that, the manager’s rate may go down to as little as 2 percent or 3 percent, because there’s no more negotiations. I would much rather there be negotiations so I can try and get more than the minimum standard for my client.
Sounds like he’s more worried about his cut.
