Fertitta: Unionizing or not is up to the fighters
This past Saturday at UFC Fan Expo 2010, Lorenzio Fertitta, who purchased the UFC in 2001, said collective third-party representation –…
This past Saturday at UFC Fan Expo 2010, Lorenzio Fertitta, who purchased the UFC in 2001, said collective third-party representation – an issue that’s long shadowed the sport’s explosive rise to popularity – is not under his company’s domain.
“We have no role,” Fertitta said. “So we’re not in a position to say we support it, or we’re against it. That’s entirely up to [the fighters].”
“One of the things that’s a little bit different is that fighting in general – I know a lot of people have talked about the same issue (with) boxing – fighting seems to be such a individual sport,” he said. “And guys have different needs and different motivations, and what’s good for a guy like Chuck Liddell is maybe not good for a kid like Paul Kelly coming up.
“They have different needs and are (at) different times in their careers, so I’m not sure if it works or not.”
“We do the best we can to tend to them,” Fertitta said. “Anybody who gets injured in the UFC, we cover that 100 percent-plus. We carry more insurance than any promoter in the history of the world (and) take care of more things – actually take care of everything for a guy who gets hurt in a fight.
“So we try to tend to their needs as best we can.”