Nate Quarry jumping in on the UFC/Fighter's revolution

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Masato
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Nate Quarry jumping in on the UFC/Fighter's revolution

Postby Masato » Wed Feb 19, 2014 10:46 am

Hey all

We didn't listen to Ortiz or Rampage... but now GSP has come out, Melendez/Cesar Gracie has come out, and many more.

Now Nate Quarry is chiming in. Talk of uniforms and full sponsor-control puts Quarry's words into an even deeper perspective.

- What are we witnessing here?

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2014/2/17/54 ... -about-the

When I signed with the UFC this is what I was told"

We can't pay you much but you can have any sponsors you want.

Then: We need to approve your sponsors.

Then: You can't have any conflicting sponsors.

Then: You can't thank your sponsors after fights.

Then: We are not approving any sponsors that we don't like their product.

Then: Your sponsors have to pay us a fee of $50,000 for the pleasure to sponsor you.

Then: Your sponsors have to pay us a fee of $100,000 for the pleasure to sponsor you.

If a sponsor has a budget of 10k to sponsor a fighter, they are then out. If there are 5 shorts companies in the UFC you can only go to them for a sponsorship. If they have spent their budget or don't want to support an up and coming fighter they give you shorts instead of money. If you're fighting for $6,000 to show and fighting 3 times a year, even $500 makes a big difference. When there is no competition they don't have to pay you. I lost And1 as a sponsor when the UFC enacted the tax.

At the UFC summit a fighter asked if he could wear his own shirt. Dana laughed and said, "Uh... we can talk about it." I turned around and asked the UFC lawyer if I could wear my OWN shirt and he said, "Sure, give me $50,000 and we can talk about it."

People have no clue from the outside what it's like to fight for the UFC. After spending 10-15 years chasing your dream only to see that the company it's been your dream to fight for cares nothing about the fighters and only cares about the bottom line.


I'm incredibly grateful for the opportunity to fight for the UFC and everything I have besides my daughter has come from fighting. But let's not fool ourselves. It's not a charity. It's a business. And they are doing everything they can to make money. The fighters are just a product to use and discard. Every up and coming fighter is the best ever. Every ex-fighter who then expresses an opinion is a coward, loser, etc, etc.

I fought for the world title for $10,000. Not a penny more. No bonus. No cut of the PPV. The gate alone was 3.5 million dollars. The third highest gate in UFC history at the time. And they must have loved the fight cuz they show the final punch at the start of EVERY UFC PPV. :-)

And that's fine. Because it's a business. But sooner or later the allure of fighting in the UFC will not be as attractive as fighting for an organization that takes care of you, appreciates you, will let you have sponsors to help make up the income gap, doesn't trash you when you think for yourself, and on and on. Just like every business you work for. It's funny to me to hear people cheer for Dana when he says things that if he was your boss and he said them about you, you would be looking for another job. But when you're signed to a contract, you can't go anywhere. No matter how much you want to.

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Postby Masato » Fri Feb 21, 2014 5:05 pm

According to FIGHT WEEK, here are some more specific demands from Nate:


“Fight Week:
Fighters are given two flights, one hotel room and $50 per diem
I suggest: Give the fighter 3 flights and $100 per diem. The days of one cornerman are over. Fighters are taking money out of their purses to pay for the numerous coaches they have to fly in to deliver the best fight possible.

*PS: what is 'diem'?

Hotel Gyms: Fighters are allowed to use the gym for free, their corner has to pay to use the hotel gym where the fighter is actually fighting.
I suggest: The fighter and up to 3 cornermen get to use the hotel gym for free. This would cost next to nothing and is one little thing that shows the fighter that they aren’t being nickeled and dimed.

Sponsorships: This is completely random. The last time I was dealing with the UFC, clothing and supplement sponsors had to pay $100k for the privilege of having a fighter put their logo on the fighter’s shorts. Random companies don’t have to pay a fee.
I suggest: Remove the sponsorship tax. This is going to bring back a myriad of sponsors that want to support the fighters and can’t afford to pay 100k to the UFC.

UFC uniform: This is speculative but it seems that the UFC is moving towards a uniform for fighters to wear out to fight in. This is going to kill the remaining sponsors. No longer will they have a shirt sponsor if everyone is wearing the same shirt. No more shorts sponsors if everyone is wearing the same pair of shorts.
I suggest: Kill this idea. If the UFC is unhappy with certain fighters wearing inappropriate shorts or shirts, punish THEM. Not every fighter in the UFC.

UFC fight contract: I may be wrong but I believe the minimum wage in the UFC is $6,000. It goes up from there. I’ve had agents tell me they are pushing for a 5 fight contract. Why? If you’re fighter goes on a win streak he can’t demand more money. If he loses, he gets cut.
I suggest: A three fight NO cut contract. This lets the fighter know that for one year they are UFC fighters. They can focus on fighting and that’s it. The UFC is going to be more selective knowing that the guy they sign will be around for a year. This gives the fighter time to get over the Octagon jitters. And build a fan base because the fans know this guy will be around for at least a year. Right now guys come and go. So what difference does it make if you have one guy signed for three fights instead of three guys that are one and done?

Pay scale: Again, I could be wrong, but I believe the UFC minimum is 6k.
I suggest: Starting salary $10,000 to show, $5,000 win bonus. If you win, your next fight is $10/7.5. The third fight on your contract would be $10/10. For one year the fighter knows that they will be making a minimum of 30k.”

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Postby Edge Guerrero » Sat Feb 22, 2014 8:00 pm

- I've read this before
They can't drop the sponsors fee, every business charge some money, but they're making dificult to the fighters to get sponsors, a very good part of a fighter income comes from sponsorship money.

I didn't knew that were limited number of people that could use the gym, this is patetic.
- I rent this space for advertising

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I won't look back I'll fight to remain

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Postby Edge Guerrero » Sat Feb 22, 2014 8:15 pm

Masato wrote:According to FIGHT WEEK, here are some more specific demands from Nate:

“Fight Week:
Fighters are given two flights, one hotel room and $50 per diem
I suggest: Give the fighter 3 flights and $100 per diem. The days of one cornerman are over. Fighters are taking money out of their purses to pay for the numerous coaches they have to fly in to deliver the best fight possible.

*PS: what is 'diem'?
- Per day. Lol, 50 dollars per day for a entorage with 3 guys at the minimum.

Hotel Gyms: Fighters are allowed to use the gym for free, their corner has to pay to use the hotel gym where the fighter is actually fighting.
I suggest: The fighter and up to 3 cornermen get to use the hotel gym for free. This would cost next to nothing and is one little thing that shows the fighter that they aren’t being nickeled and dimed.

- THis is pathetic, a fighter and his team should be able to train for free in the hotel gym.
They're performers, they want the fighters to perform well, but can't pay for a fight team to use a gym?




Sponsorships: This is completely random. The last time I was dealing with the UFC, clothing and supplement sponsors had to pay $100k for the privilege of having a fighter put their logo on the fighter’s shorts. Random companies don’t have to pay a fee.
I suggest: Remove the sponsorship tax. This is going to bring back a myriad of sponsors that want to support the fighters and can’t afford to pay 100k to the UFC.

- A huge company need's to pay close attention at what type of sponsors a fighter gets.
Shound't be so dificult to get sponsors, but there are several companys ripping the fighters, and not payin their money
They need to charge to show those banners in a tv show that is showed in several contries, i think they could facility the thing tought.



UFC uniform: This is speculative but it seems that the UFC is moving towards a uniform for fighters to wear out to fight in. This is going to kill the remaining sponsors. No longer will they have a shirt sponsor if everyone is wearing the same shirt. No more shorts sponsors if everyone is wearing the same pair of shorts.
I suggest: Kill this idea. If the UFC is unhappy with certain fighters wearing inappropriate shorts or shirts, punish THEM. Not every fighter in the UFC.

- In my opinion, i don't think we are gonna see uniforms.
Or maybe only some fighters are gonna use them, like fighter can't get a good sponsor, go with UFC uniforme that pays a medium amont, but is a garanted pay.


UFC fight contract: I may be wrong but I believe the minimum wage in the UFC is $6,000. It goes up from there. I’ve had agents tell me they are pushing for a 5 fight contract. Why? If you’re fighter goes on a win streak he can’t demand more money. If he loses, he gets cut.
I suggest: A three fight NO cut contract. This lets the fighter know that for one year they are UFC fighters. They can focus on fighting and that’s it. The UFC is going to be more selective knowing that the guy they sign will be around for a year. This gives the fighter time to get over the Octagon jitters. And build a fan base because the fans know this guy will be around for at least a year. Right now guys come and go. So what difference does it make if you have one guy signed for three fights instead of three guys that are one and done?

- I like this idea.


Pay scale: Again, I could be wrong, but I believe the UFC minimum is 6k.
I suggest: Starting salary $10,000 to show, $5,000 win bonus. If you win, your next fight is $10/7.5. The third fight on your contract would be $10/10. For one year the fighter knows that they will be making a minimum of 30k.”


- Minimum payment is 8 to show, 8 to win thought, this means he wants a cut of 1000dollars? :shock:
They already increase the win bonus when the fighters gets a streak.
- I rent this space for advertising

Don't be selfish, preserve this world for the next generations.

I'll never long for what might have been
Regret won't waste my life again
I won't look back I'll fight to remain

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Postby Canuckster » Thu Feb 27, 2014 10:27 pm

perdiem = day
People say they all want the truth, but when they are confronted with a truth that disagrees with them, they balk at it as if it were an unwanted zombie apocalypse come to destroy civilization.

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Postby Masato » Sun Mar 02, 2014 6:40 pm

Thanks Canuckster

yeah the more I think about this the more I see how bad it screws so many facets of the sport.

Not only does it fuck up the fighters' potential to grow their income from sponsors, but it makes it IMPOSSIBLE for any smaller companies to get their logos on TV. How the fuck can anyone but the mega-corps ever be involved with the sport? They can't


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