A Wednesday conference call served as the official unveiling of the first MMA athlete’s association in America, with a star studded cast of fighters serving as the head spokesmen of the revolutionary organization.
Welterweight legend Georges St-Pierre, multi-weight star Donald Ceronne, former UFC Bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw, former UFC Heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, UFC Middleweight Tim Kennedy, and Bellator founder and ex-president Bjorn Rebney were the highlights of the call.
Ariel Helwani live tweeted the call, providing some of the more notable quotes:
Rebney calls the UFC an "egregious, predatory monopoly."
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) November 30, 2016
Kennedy: Where the UFC is headed right now is an unsustainable trajectory. MFers can't walk.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) November 30, 2016
Rebney doesn't think MMA will exist in 10 years if the status quo continues.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) November 30, 2016
Cerrone: I'm scared to f'n death. But I still have a contract. I still have a fight next weekend.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) November 30, 2016
GSP: I'm here to better the situation of UFC fighters.
Maybe I'll fight again, maybe I won't. But I'm doing this to help the fighters.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) November 30, 2016
Rebney made sure to clarify that it isn’t a union, since that would “delay everything four or five years.” All five fighters also acknowledged that this organization is a bold move and that all are worried about their careers in UFC and beyond, but that they all feel it will lead to the betterment of the sport. Whether that includes unionization in the future is up for debate.
The fighters on the call are the voting council of the association, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, with Rebney serving as an advisor to the board.
More on this as more details are revealed.
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