Is there a need for managers in MMA?
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua recently split from his long-time manager, saying in part “the UFC has made it clear that we don’t…
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua recently split from his long-time manager, saying in part “the UFC has made it clear that we don’t need a manager; all negotiations are conducted by the athletes themselves.”
Alex Davis, who is rapidly becoming the conscience of the sport, details how managers still have a role to play.
“As I watch the severing of ties between some prominent athletes and their longtime managers – and feel the scrutiny that management comes under because of the media attention that these breakups are getting – many things become apparent,” Davis told MMAjunkie.com. “First off, fight management is something that is very poorly understood by most. The reasons that brought these recent breakups have nothing to do with the scope of fight management in general. They are specific reasons, particular to the parties involved.
“Although you might have cases where an individual fighter can manage his or her own career successfully, those will be few and far between. For the most part, both the fighter and the promotion need help in this area.”
“Let’s go back to the point when a fighter starts his career and begins progressing up through the ranks. At that point, it will be very difficult for a guy to accomplish all of his goals without the guidance, contacts and experience of someone who has been in the game for a while and understands the ins and outs of our specific world.
“Many promising careers have been ended prematurely because of non- or improper management. We have also seen this happen recently, when successful people in other walks of life have attempted to enter the game at a high level, and without understanding what they are doing, hurt otherwise successful careers.”
“Some people will say that once a fighter reaches a level where he enters the UFC, he doesn’t need management anymore, but usually a manager has worked very hard to get him to that point without ever getting properly rewarded for his efforts. Only once a fighter is at the top can a manager have a chance at making something in the deal, which is only fair. Not only that, but its not like, ‘Hey, great, now I am in the UFC. My problems are over!’ Far from that. Things get way more complicated.
“More paperwork is needed. Deadlines must be met, and the young fighter at the same time must invest more of his time into his own training in order to perform, and if the time that he has outside the mat, ring or gym, has not been spent resting but handling the many other issues that are part of a professional fighter’s career, his performance will suffer, and so will his career.”
“The UFC does not pick a fighter’s manager and does not meddle in that relationship. The UFC will deal with whoever the fighter wishes, and if the fighter wishes to do it himself, the UFC will not have a problem with that. But I know for a fact that it would be a far more difficult process to go it alone for the simple reason that fighters fight. They train for fights, they understand fighting, and that’s their walk in life. That is where and when the they are the most intelligent at what they do – experts in the field, so to speak – but in the vast majority of cases, take them out of that world, and they are completely lost.
“Additionally, I think people sometimes don’t understand the multitude of things that go on behind the scenes. Contracts to sign – not to mention abide by when it comes to sponsors – schedules to arrange and follow, medicals to be completed, travel to consider, diets to maintain and on and on an on. All of these things fall under the manager’s responsibility, and if they weren’t on the case, the UFC and every other promotion would find themselves with a whole new set of headaches.”
“Speaking only for myself, I know I get irritated at feeling my job and hard work will come under some kind of scrutiny caused by ricochet from other people’s problems. I know how hard I work at this, how much the responsibility of someone’s life and career weighs on my shoulders, and how much I have been involved in different athletes’ success.
“I have been doing this for more than a decade. I have been a part of many men’s lives and careers. I have always tried my hardest to do the best for them and have only sought to make what is honest and fair from them – in many cases even waiving moneys that I could have lawfully claimed because I could see what a particular fighter was going through in his life at that particular moment and decided to reinvest that percentage in him. But that’s just me. There are other people out there like myself, but the majority are out there for other reasons. Ego? Money? I see cases where a manager simply sucks a fighter dry and others where he is nonexistent until the camera and success shows up!
“This is a complex subject, and the truth lies deeper then one or two big names. Specific problems are different in each case and cannot be generalized. MMA is a very complex sport and becomes even more so as it grows, and the simple truth is that a successful fighter will need more and more specific help in different areas – management being only one – if he is to become and stay successful.”