Pederneiras defends The Reebok Deal
Andre Pederneiras: “If the UFC goes bankrupt tomorrow, not a single fighter will hand Dana White and the Fertittas money from their pockets to pay their bills.”
In an interview earlier this month, UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo ripped the Reebok Deal hard, and called for a fighter’s union. Jose Aldo’s coach is the great Andre Pederneiras, whose contributions include expanding BJJ from a sport for the privileged, to a sport for everyone, including people who grew up impoverished in the Favela, like Jose Aldo. However, in a recent interview with Portal do Vale Tudo, the boss of Nova Uniao sided with the UFC,
“The UFC is a private company. It’s like my gym, it’s mine and no one should say anything about it,” said Pederneiras as translated by Lucas Rezende for BE. “If I come up with a rule that must be followed by everybody, whoever is unhappy should say ‘I don’t like to work under those conditions and I’m leaving’. Cool, that’s their right. But if they want to work for me, they need to accept the rule.
“Unfortunately, not all rules will benefit everybody. They must understand the UFC makes rules for the well-being of the company. If the UFC goes bankrupt tomorrow, not a single fighter will hand Dana White and the Fertittas money from their pockets to pay their bills. Here’s what I think, if you’re there, you must subject yourself to the rules. Whoever doesn’t want to, should leave.”
“Now, fighters wanting to get together and start a rebellion against the UFC, I don’t think that’s the way to go. Everyone who owns a company will agree with me. Sometimes employees don’t understand, but an owner must know what’s best for his business, which is what the UFC is doing and it’s something I have done many times.”