Managers and agents are fast becoming an endangered species
backstage at UFC and WEC events.
Zuffa, the company that owns and operates both promotions, has
notified select fighter representatives that they will no longer
receive credentials from the promotion to sit with their clients
backstage on fight night.
The reasoning behind the UFC’s decision
varies according to the source. Some say the move is yet another
strike in a campaign to separate fighters from their business
representatives. Others say Zuffa is making a reasonable attempt to
control unnecessary backstage traffic and lighten overcrowded
dressing rooms of freeloaders.
The latter explanation loses traction, however, when the
promotion has not enacted a blanket policy across the board, which
brings into question if the move is more personal than
procedural.
Of five separate fighter representatives and their firms that
spoke to Sherdog.com, two said they were told that credentials
would no longer be doled out to them shortly after UFC 94 on Jan. 31. These firms were also denied backstage
access in person at UFC Fight Night 17,
UFC 95 and UFC 96, as
well as WEC 39, which took place March 1 in
Corpus Christi, Texas.
Both reps said Zuffa would give no reason for the change in
policy when asked over the phone and in person.
“You don’t ask questions of them. You know how that goes,” said
one manager, who, like multiple fighter representatives
interviewed, would only speak on the condition of anonymity for
fear of repercussions.
Zuffa’s public relations department did not respond to an e-mail
requesting comment on the promotion’s sudden shift in policy after
eight years.
Outraged managers and agents said the silent treatment speaks to
a greater issue that Zuffa is trying to keep hidden behind closed
locker room doors.
“They’re divisively trying to split management and fighters,”
said one representative. “They’re trying to de-power the managers
and agents to create a wedge between them. They give locker room
bonuses and say, ‘This is from Dana [White] and the UFC—nobody else.’ They’re telling fighters they can go
directly to them. They’re telling fighters they’ll be doing
sponsorships themselves in the near future that will put the
managers and agents out of business. They’re trying to minimize the
managers’ and agents’ role in the fighter’s life so they can better
control salaries.”
If these allegations hold validity, how would a promotion be
allowed to prevent a fighter from protecting his business interests
no matter where he is?
In both boxing and MMA, a majority of
statutes allow athletic commissions to license managers and agents,
which essentially gives these representatives the right to handle
the fighter’s earnings. However, the promotions have the discretion
to assign walk-around credentials to managers, agents and other
parties not affiliated with the regulatory body, something
promotions have done with little fuss over the years—until now.
Photo by Sherdog.com
Dana White was an
MMA manager himself.Many representatives
speculated the order came from UFC President
Dana White, himself a former manager who once worked with Chuck
Liddell and Tito Ortiz.
The California State Athletic Commission, the New Jersey State
Athletic Control Board and the Tennessee Athletic Commission -
which hosts its first UFC event Wednesday in
Nashville - all told Sherdog.com that they either do not have
the jurisdiction or did not wish to grant backstage credentials
outside of their commission employees.
All three regulatory bodies said managers and agents are welcome
to apply for one of the three commission-issued credentials
allotted to licensed seconds or cornermen.
“If the manager is one of the three seconds, he may be at
ringside. If he is not, it is at the promoter’s discretion who gets
credentials,” wrote Tennessee’s newly appointed Executive Director
Jeff Mullen, who judged nearly 50 UFC events.
“I can only ask for credentials for someone who is on official
commission business.”
CSAC Assistant Executive Officer Bill
Douglas agreed.
“We will not be involved with the issuance of credentials
outside of our scope,” replied Douglas in an e-mail to Sherdog.com
on Monday.
If Zuffa won’t credential certain individuals backstage as
managers, then why not just apply for a second’s license?
Agent Ken Pavia, who has 55 athletes on his roster, said a
cornerman is a crucial role that most managers or agents leave up
to the pros.
“With the multiplicity of disciplines the fighters must be
schooled in, their striking coach, their ground coach are needed in
the corner,” said Pavia, who was among those denied. “Their
training partner is in the locker room with them, helping them warm
up, to break a sweat, to grapple, to pummel, whatever. Often, a
full-service fighter will have all three in his corner, which
pushes the manager or agent out.”
Monte Cox, who manages 60 fighters and once simultaneously
guided the careers of three UFC champions,
believes managers must pick their battles
