Elsalvajeloco Posted November 29, 2016 Author Share Posted November 29, 2016 Maybe we can scratch off a PFA alliance/merger thing because Jeff Borris might not have his shit together based on the open letter from Leslie Smith. TLDR version of said letter: Leslie Smith is stepping away from PFA because Borris was giving away fighter info to the agents, breaching an agreement. Poor Borris didn't last long enough to get a class action lawsuit out of the deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheVileOne Posted November 29, 2016 Share Posted November 29, 2016 Bjorn Rebney being involved here gives me pause, but not necessarily against the fighters unionizing and having representation and a voice in certain deals and decisions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elsalvajeloco Posted November 29, 2016 Author Share Posted November 29, 2016 7 minutes ago, TheVileOne said: Bjorn Rebney being involved here gives me pause, but not necessarily against the fighters unionizing and having representation and a voice in certain deals and decisions. Helwani just said on Twitter what I was going to say here. Using the guy who went out of his way to make sure Bellator contracts were as coercive as UFC contracts might not be the best way to go about this. Moreover, angling to make it CAA vs. WME will not end well for several fighters. You thought Zinkin Ent. vs. Zuffa that one day was ugly? This is going to turn into some intense power struggle type shit MMA has never seen before. Not sure you want to draw the line that quickly when you need a large amount of the roster sign on. I can't imagine that being enticing to someone who wants to unionize without making enemies with teammates and the like. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheVileOne Posted November 29, 2016 Share Posted November 29, 2016 It's from Malki Kawa, so again it's Malki Kawa, let me preface that. But here's what he said: Quote Lol if Bjorn rebney is in, I'm out. He was the most anti-fighter promoter I ever met. Contract worse than ... http://m.tmi.me/1fgCif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elsalvajeloco Posted November 29, 2016 Author Share Posted November 29, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elsalvajeloco Posted November 29, 2016 Author Share Posted November 29, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elsalvajeloco Posted November 29, 2016 Author Share Posted November 29, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elsalvajeloco Posted November 29, 2016 Author Share Posted November 29, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elsalvajeloco Posted November 29, 2016 Author Share Posted November 29, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheVileOne Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 ESPN reported that he settled with NYSAC for a $2,000 instead of the six month suspension, so it looks like the fight is on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elsalvajeloco Posted November 30, 2016 Author Share Posted November 30, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Wilson Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 2 hours ago, Elsalvajeloco said: "The three goals for the MMAAA will be earning a settlement from the UFC for current and past fighters, bring the revenue disparity from just 8 percent to 50 percent for fighters, and to negotiate a collective-bargaining agreement with the UFC." Only uh the last one of those three sounds possible. But its good to have goals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheVileOne Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 Bjorn Rebney being a part of this seems less than genuine. Second of all, why does UFC have any incentive, legal or otherwise, to give in to any of their demands at all? I'm not saying fighters shouldn't get these things, but I'm not sure how this model is going to be more effective than say the class-action lawsuits. Thirdly, Rebney acting like this pitbull all of a sudden for fighter pay and benefits is hilarious considering his history. He can boast his 53 percent figure all day long until the cows come home, but does anyone here know any of Bellator's actual revenue when Rebney was in charge? Rebney didn't exactly bring forth great change for fighter benefits, getting fighters health insurance or making sure they were well taken care of. Sure, fighters could compete in a tournament where they could win a 100K, but after that, their opportunities dried up quickly. Not to mention suing fighters, including Eddie Alvarez, and keeping their fight careers tied up in litigation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elsalvajeloco Posted December 1, 2016 Author Share Posted December 1, 2016 Besides the obvious, I think a big part of the problem (especially in a 2 hour call) is they didn't really give a lot of pertinent details. I get that you don't want the UFC/WME-IMG to counter, but if this is for the fighters (we're talking about almost 600 people), you have to sell them big. Fighters already know about MMA unions (or in this case, an association) attempts, but nothing has compelled them to join yet. It's underselling vs. overselling. You can't promise an industry changing announcement and then be light on the details. In addition, it seems like they didn't really have a strong meeting beforehand about what was going to be said. I believe Cerrone didn't even have anything prepared. However, for something like this, everyone should be on code especially if the fighters are supposedly running the association. You can't have Bjorn saying the UFC is an egregious monopoly and the association has no plans on contacting the UFC, and one or two of the fighters say they just want to work with the UFC to get things right. It makes no fucking sense...at all. Once again, the fighters are in charge of running this. Plus, you have people on the call talking about a possible labor strike but you also see reputable legal experts following the call actually talking about the UFC possibly being able sue their independent contractors and/or association members for collusion. You can't have Bjorn downplaying a union and then have people on the call talk about benefits that would probably be best achieved as a union and not as an association. I didn't personally listen to the call, but IMO everything tweeted about it ranges from wishful, theoretical possibility to "Hey, this isn't a pyramid scheme! Honest!*wink*" w/ Bjorn's involvement. There is nothing that was said in that 2 hour call that couldn't be said inside of 45 minutes. If you didn't know beforehand what this might have been about, you would swear that some shady dude was trying to get you to buy a timeshare. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheVileOne Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 http://www.mmafighting.com/2016/11/30/13802530/conor-mcgregor-issued-boxing-license-in-california Make of it what you will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elsalvajeloco Posted December 1, 2016 Author Share Posted December 1, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig H Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 So I'm watching Jon Jones on the Joe Rogan Experience. Man, Jones is the most full of shit person that I can think of in recent memory. From admitting that he'll drink again, to that he still goes out and parties but he only drinks Red Bull, to how much pot he smoked (and yet somehow was never caught), to the whole Cialis thing. Joe is even asking him why he needed to get fake Cialis instead of just getting the legit pill. Of course, his response to that is bullshit as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elsalvajeloco Posted December 1, 2016 Author Share Posted December 1, 2016 28 minutes ago, Craig H said: So I'm watching Jon Jones on the Joe Rogan Experience. Man, Jones is the most full of shit person that I can think of in recent memory. From admitting that he'll drink again, to that he still goes out and parties but he only drinks Red Bull, to how much pot he smoked (and yet somehow was never caught), to the whole Cialis thing. Joe is even asking him why he needed to get fake Cialis instead of just getting the legit pill. Of course, his response to that is bullshit as well. I'm listening to the interview right now (missed about a few minutes here and there), but I don't think there was anything too bad so far that I've heard. Given some of the softballs lobbed his way the last 2 years or so, he has been forthcoming on a lot of things. He just comes off as a really peculiar dude, which isn't uncommon at all for pro athletes. He reminds me so much of Ricky Williams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elsalvajeloco Posted December 1, 2016 Author Share Posted December 1, 2016 Speaking of this interview, it seems pretty damn strange (and dangerous) to let random people (w/ minimal experience) spar with top pros at Jackson-Wink unless it's a specialist in a specific discipline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheVileOne Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 3 hours ago, Elsalvajeloco said: Speaking of this interview, it seems pretty damn strange (and dangerous) to let random people (w/ minimal experience) spar with top pros at Jackson-Wink unless it's a specialist in a specific discipline. Maybe it's because I'm looking at it from an outsider's view, but it's strange to me a lot some of these practices for the elite camps that have years of knowledge and experience and how fighters get hurt from things that shouldn't have happened. Either because practices are over-crowded and guys are rolling over each other, which has caused debilitating injuries for guys like Dominick Cruz and Rashad Evans, or people like Cain Velasquez not even doing post-workout stretches. Just some random obvious things that sound like an accident waiting to happen but they do it anyway. As for Jon Jones, he's clearly a gifted athlete like few athletes are gifted. And gifted or genius level people tend to be wired a little differently and there's just something off about them. I see that in Jon Jones, but also just a great lack of maturity as well. I think to be a fighter in the first place, there's just maybe something a little off there. It's just like being a pro wrestler. Kevin Owens expressed that mindset as well. You have to be a little off in order to be a pro wrestler and be in that game. I think what probably hurt Jones' development is that from a young age he's put in a position where he's suddenly getting all this fame and money. He probably had a modest upbringing and suddenly he's in luxury. It's like you are a kid in a candy store and you think you are invincible and you can do whatever you want. As for the website where Jones got his imitation Cialis, I checked the link, and it's not even accessible anymore. So all that aside, Jones is still a fucking blithering idiot of all the blithering idiots on the planet. It's like he got an e-mail saying he's got a prince in Nigeria who wants to give him a fortune and believed it. Or he bought into the lies of an eBay seller who is misleading you about the product on auction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elsalvajeloco Posted December 2, 2016 Author Share Posted December 2, 2016 Not to dissect the interview or Jon Jones even more than necessary, but what I took from many of Jon's answers (FWIW I missed a couple minutes when Rogan got right into the UFC 200 thing) is he understands that he doesn't understand some of the greater responsibilities he is taking on. So much of his mindset reads of a fighter who would be at home if he was in the sport ten or fifteen years ago. Fighters don't have to be saints now, but you can't be out here doing rails and bumping random broads before fights now. The same goes with popping dick pills random strangers give you or getting blackout drunk for that matter. The part time rockstar/pseudo good guy doesn't jive with what is feasible, and clearly he's not the rare person who can maintain that lifestyle. I think based on him talking about invincibility and the fact that he's hard to keep down, his psyche is always going to feed into his habits. You don't think when he wrecks Dan Henderson on 12/11 in this submission grappling match that's not going to be feeling himself? Dude doesn't even know the rules, and it's pretty damn obvious he doesn't have to. Shit, he didn't even have to bring in Tussa to train with. When you're that great, you feel like you can do whatever. We see it with Conor. We see it with Ronda. Perhaps, it gives us more greatness and also leads to more questionable shit. Either way, that's the common denominator with Jon Jones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elsalvajeloco Posted December 2, 2016 Author Share Posted December 2, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elsalvajeloco Posted December 2, 2016 Author Share Posted December 2, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elsalvajeloco Posted December 4, 2016 Author Share Posted December 4, 2016 On 12/2/2016 at 10:49 AM, Elsalvajeloco said: Several fights have been announced for this card, most notably Alexa Grasso vs. Felice Herrig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elsalvajeloco Posted December 6, 2016 Author Share Posted December 6, 2016 Jessica Andrade vs. Maryna Moroz has been added to UFC 207. Putting two and two together, I am guessing the UFC on Fox card in Denver will be headlined by Julianna Pena vs. Valentina Shevchenko. That fight is currently in the works, and there was a report the other day saying a female fight will headline the Denver card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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