Nick Diaz looks to get paid in boxing bout, while fighters get respect with new insurance coverage.
Apologies to Cuba Gooding Jr., but even Nick Diaz can't complain about the UFC's big announcement Monday.
The Strikeforce welterweight champion -- whose favourite line lately has been "I gotta get paid" -- will soon become one of 350 fighters under contract with Zuffa, which owns the UFC and Strikeforce, covered under its new accident insurance policy.
The plan, which goes into effect on June 1, will provide each fighter with up to $50,000 per year to cover expenses arising from injuries, suffered either in training or any type of accident between fights. Here are some notable points.
This is an unprecedented move in combat sports and great news for the fighters. Not only does it provide them -- and their families -- a great financial benefit, it offers a little extra piece of mind. And it is also an indication of the respect the organization has for them as the stars who make the show what it is.
Since Zuffa has taken over, the UFC it has always had a good reputation for looking out for the safety and well-being of its fighters during fights but one running knock against the UFC was the fighters' security as a whole.
There is no fighters' union, and if anyone was hurt while preparing for fights, they were on their own. When a guy can be cut after one bad performance -- or if they get injured, they can't fight, meaning they don't get paid -- it doesn't exactly add up to solid job security.
This new coverage provides them with the sense that they are valued as employees (technically, "independent contractors") which means they can go ahead and train as hard as they can to be as prepared as possible for their fights.
The coverage does not cover their "salaries"; if a fighter is hurt in such a way that he is forced to pull out of a fight, he will still miss out on his purse... at least until he is able to fight again. However, it provides them all that they need to get themselves back into a position where they can earn that salary, with nothing out of pocket.
This move also helps the organization legitimize itself further as a professional sports "league." Whether this affects the movement for a fighters' union or helps the image of the sport on the political front (for example, as it looks to get MMA sanctioned in New York) is uncertain.
The UFC said such considerations were not at all part of the motivation for establishing this new insurance policy but it certainly won't hurt.
The bottom line is: It benefits the fighters if and when they do.
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Back to Diaz.
I'm not sure if Monday's news registered with him as he continues to seek out the best option for his current fighting career, but it was already confirmed over the weekend that he will put his MMA on hold and fight Jeff Lacy in a boxing match.
It was also revealed -- well, speculated -- that Diaz will make at least what he earned in his last Strikeforce fight, which was $175,000 for his TKO of Paul Daley last month.
So is that Diaz's best option? I would imagine he could make more in a much talked about title fight against Georges St-Pierre. Although that potential duel might not be possible for a while. St-Pierre is currently nursing the eye injury he suffered at UFC 129 in Toronto and Diaz still has one more fight on his Strikeforce contract, which stays in effect until at least the end of that organization's TV deal with Showtime, and that doesn't run out until February 2012 (but could be extended).
I doubt Diaz would want to wait that long for his next paycheque or perhaps he just doesn't want to suffer the same fate against GSP as his teammate Jake Shields -- a five-round domination. That wouldn't be the best for his financial marketability.
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It appears boxing isn't dead yet. While the UFC is experiencing staggering growth -- both in popularity and financially -- it may be too soon to declare a KO on the sport of boxing.
Saturday's Manny Pacquiao vs. Shane Mosley fight drew 16,412 fans to the MGM Grand Garden Arena, which is a bigger audience than the venue has ever had for a UFC event. And while we don't have the final numbers yet, don't be surprised if it had more pay-per-view buys than GSP vs. Shields.
UFC president Dana White, who was in attendance, said he still thinks both sports can co-exist, while Todd duBoef, the promoter of the event believes the "sweet science" isn't going anywhere.
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It was a day of economic revelation Monday on many fronts, as a report was also released from Moneris Solutions, Canada's largest debit and credit card payment processor, which indicated something we basically already knew: UFC 129 was a big financial boon for Toronto.
The company said the city saw an increase of 23 per cent in transactions on April 30, the day 55,724 spectators descended on the Rogers Centre to see the historic UFC event. Restaurants registered one of the largest boosts at 19.2 per cent in dollars spent compared to similar weeks, while bars experienced a 15.7 bump.
Meanwhile, the UFC is continuing to compile its own economic impact study. Stay tuned, but the early projections were that it brought $40,000,000 to the city.
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