We sometimes forget that, like most of us, athletes are employees to a business. Like us they have salaries, bosses, and a work schedule. I'm sure this gets away from a few athletes as they tend to hold their own fate in their own hands....despite having a boss.
Not many of us get to haggle over how much we earn and how we earn it, and when we do it's not very often we can get what we demand. Maybe we get a dollar or two raise and we feel accomplished. Maybe it's some more vacation time so we can work less. Or maybe it's as simple as more accommodating working conditions. But it's not likely you will walk into your bosses office and say "You know what, I don't want to do that job. It looks a little tough and I just don't think it's worth the extra money I am being paid". For most of us that would be the last thing we would say to our boss.
There is an exception though. You get to make these demands if you are a UFC Champion.
I know mixed martial arts is a different kind of industry. I know fighters work almost independently to earn the best coin they can, and they work hard to earn it. They are however part of a promotion, that gives them that opportunity to earn the big dollars. A select few have risen to the top and seem to feel they are above the rest. Sure a shiny belt around your waist and huge endorsement deals will do that to you. At what point though are you becoming larger than the business? At what point are you chopping at your own legs?
This past week it was announced that Dan Henderson had to pull out of his fight with UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon "Bones" Jones due to an injury. Nothing new in the world of cage fighting. But here is where the story develops. Without a head-liner of that magnitude this card really had no appeal. None. Not saying it wouldn't have been great fights. It just has no marketing value. A cancellation looms.
There was a solution however. A man just about everyone despises. A man that could provide enough interest to save the card. A man you can market. Chael Sonnen. Chael offered, on 8 days notice, to step into the cage with the champ. I don't like Chael.....at all....but that is the kind of employee you want. A man that is willing to step up in a time of need, no questions asked. So card saved right?
Wrong.
Jones and his camp believed that 8 days was not enough time to prepare for a fight with the former #1 Middleweight contender. OK, I see where you are coming from. Chael is a high risk low reward fight. You win? Great you were supposed to, we will see you in a couple months for you next title defence. You lose? There goes sponsors, fans and ultimately $s. Hmmm, pretty easy decision if you look at it like that.
Here is where I have an issue. You are the Champ. You are the best in the world, and have proven that. Why are you scared? Put it this way, Chael wins one or two fights....you will HAVE to fight him then. If you are as good as you claim to be then you shouldn't have any troubles with him. Oh you only get 8 days training camp? Well Chael does too, and he wasn't training for a fight that weekend to begin with. You are already months ahead. Why not prove you are the best by beating anyone they throw in front of you at any time.
Jones isn't the only one to pull these tactics either. UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva and his manager Ed Soares have come out and pretty much hand picked who they want to fight and when, for a number of years now. Most recently they stated they didn't want to fight a man many consider the next big thing at Middleweight, Chris Weidman. Their reasons were similar to Jones, $$. When you are called the BEST EVER (as Silva should be) you deserve the right to have more pull on your matches. But at what point does UFC President Dana White step in and say "You work FOR us". Someone in the UFC has a job that is deciding matches. That's their job. They shouldn't have to go to the fighters and ask "Is this fight OK Anderson? Will you fight this guy Jon?"
These fighters have built a pretty impressive empire on a foundation of quick sand. How so? We the fans supplement their income. We buy their t-shirts, their merchandise, and most importantly their PPV's. They will always have their more than adequate salaries, but the BIG money....comes from us. And what do you say to your fans when you will go so far as cancelling a PPV event because you feel that even after months of training, you won't have enough time to prepare for a man you already believe you can beat. What do you say to the other fighters on that card that are now potentially out of a fight? Uhhh well I didn't want to lose a bunch of money....but you guys can....Real great for your public image to force thousands of fans to get refunds, tarnish the brand name you represent, an let down a handful of your peers and co-workers. All because the deck wasn't lined up exactly how you wanted it to be.
If it's your bottom line that you are worried about....why are you chopping at the pillars that hold you up? Fans are getting frustrated with once a year title defences. Fans are getting tired of not seeing the match-ups they want because the Champion calls the shots. If it's your legacy you are trying to defend why not leave on a high instead of dragging your career on, while fans know just what you are doing. Picking fights you won't lose so your aura doesn't disappear with reality.
I don't want to go so far as saying that fighters should just accept every fight in front of them. When you earn the belt you earn the right to have an opinion on fights. Its just time the champs stopped having the right to call all the shots. For most of us when the boss says here is your job, we do it. Just because you have metal around your waist, doesn't mean you are the one calling the shots.
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