UFC Cuts Jon Fitch Among Others

This is so retarded by the UFC… any lawyer worth a nickle would destroy them for “econonmic duress” or possibly a “contract of adheshion.” It’s utter madness that they would pull anything like this.

Wow, crazy story.  I am surprised by White’s reaction, but maybe there is more to the story.  It seems the AKA reps were the catalyst here.  Sucks to see good fighters get cut because of who reps them.  Koscheck and Velasquez may be headed out as well, which is nuts.

Dumbest thing ive ever heard of in my life.

Cmon dana.. 

Pride goeth before the fall.  Dana White is begging for competition.

Are you serious? I know there is $$ to be made in video games but this is rediculous. There has to be way more to this story than we know of right now. DW must have a stick up his ass about his camp.

I did not think it was possible for Dana White to surprise me.  I become more and more of a Fitch fan every time I see him, this has only made me respect him more.  Go Affliction!

somehow reading this story reminds me of mel gibson in braveheart screaming, “FREEDOM!!” it may sound cliche, but i still believe in having rights whether or not i choose to exercise them or not, or whether or not they may ever materialize.  if someone wants to take away those rights, and then threatens my livelihood if i don’t give them away according to the “FAVORS” that i need to comply with, then that seems a bit unethical to me.  and before everyone says, “they’re a private co./ don’t work for them, etc. etc....i agree w/ that, but only to a point.  saying something like that is only valid if you have another company or organization to go to.  otherwise, if you only have pretty much ONE choice, then that option sort of becomes moot and meaningless. 

can i choose then to not be a fighter - sure. but how logical or practical is that? especially in terms of the age, training, money and lifelong dedication spent towards being a pro fighter. which is why i say that........... 

i cannot wait for the day that another promotion is able to truly challenge the ufc so that when they pull their strongarm tactics on the fighters, they can actually say “f*ck u dana” and go elsewhere and really have a place to earn a living.  for all the bad crap spoken about the other organizations, it seems they at least didn’t squeeze the lifeblood out of their fighters just so they could earn every red cent from them.  to go back to something very relevant that luke thomas of bloody elbow posted in one of the many fitchgate stories: he asked several ?’s re: why the contract needed to be exclusive, why is it absolutely nonnegotiable, why cut fitch completely instead of just out of the game & is this more personal w/ zinkin than w/ fitch himself?  the truth is, there really are no answers to these questions that can justify the lifetime issue and the nonpayment to the fighter, including upon his death.  & it does not matter to me that currently no org. pays their fighters for dvd’s or the like; they should & hopefully will in the future if the fighters get a union or something similar in terms of banding together. 

again, it goes back to freedom and rights. the ufc is categorically trying to take them away, and b/c they are the only real game in town, they can pretty much force the fighter’s hand if they want to eat & continue to live. you can argue all u want that they (the ufc) have the right to do this & it’s about $$, and while that may be true, it does not necessarily make it right or fair or ethical. 

i hope ea sports makes a video game and asks fitch to be in it and then let the ufc sue and have their contract declared illegal.  that would be the sweetest revenge.  i know fitch had to capitulate b/c of monetary reasons b/c there just aren’t too many places to go at this juncture.  fitch may never have another video offer, but the fact that he could & now cannot exercise that right is the main crux of the problem for me. the pt. is giving up a right that you have as a person and as an employee of a company and giving up that right due to pressure of not being able to thrive b/c there isn’t enough competition.  at some pt. what may seem like a small silly video game can lead to larger issues and rights that slowly are devalued by strongarm tactics. 

so much for freedom of autonomy.  as fitch said, swick has a “special” deal for a video game so he’s not affected the same way as fitch is; and who knows how many other fighters are exempt from the ufc’s special brand of “offers they can’t refuse.”

maybe it’s time for a ufc - vegas tea party......w/ the aka boys leading the way. hey, ken-flo is from boston, maybe he can give em some pointers.

I have to thank Dana for saving the UFC and bringing back a sport i’ve loved since the beginning. But as time goes on he is proving to world that he is a jackass. He’s making it easy for other companies to start up their own shows with he’s its my way or the highway crap. You can’t expect a young fighter to sign a non nogotiable lifetime cotract. He’s trying to lock these guy’s into deals that looks good now but as they they make a bigger name for themself and should be making more it bites them in the ass. How greedy do you have to be? The more money you make off me the the more I should get in return. I can’t believe it every time I see Dana in a interview bragging how much the UFC is bringing in each year and them a week later cussing out a top fighter for wanting a little more money. The amount of money you bring in is a direct reflection on the on the quality of fighters and level of competition they bring to the show. The UFC is’nt the only place for mma fighters to work anymore. And the other shows are only getting better because of the way Dana is running off fighters.If he did it correctly he would’nt have to worry about the compitition and banning sponsors because the fighters would’nt want to work anywhere else.  Dana please get your head out of your ass long enough to see what your doing.