The announcement of an association geared toward UFC athletes may be another step to a collective effort for fighters to organize. The Professional Fighters Association (PFA) announced its formation on Thursday.
According to a press release put out by the PFA, its goal is to organize fighters “so that they may collectively bargain their terms and conditions of employment to the National Labor Relations Act.” The release states that the PFA will be governed by fighters.
The PFA web site is run by veteran sports agent Jeff Borris, labor lawyer Lucas Middlebrook (who you might recall represented Nick Diaz against the Nevada State Athletic Commission last year) and economist Andrew Zimbalist. The web site has quotes from leaders of other sports players unions praising the start of the PFA for UFC fighters.
MMA Junkie reported that a New York law firm is attempting to recruit fighters for talks about organizing. With the UFC now legal in New York, it appears that there is an opportunity sought by attorneys to help organize the fighters.
Payout Perspective:
The PFA joins MMAFA as well as other groups out there seeking to organize MMA fighters. It will be interesting to see how much traction it will receive as well as how much the UFC (and the new owners) may seek to oppose something like this. Certainly, the disparity outlined by the PFA (fighters receive 15% of UFC revenue versus an almost across the board 50/50 split in leagues) regarding fighter pay might attract fighters to see what PFA could do.
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