Issue 034

February 2008

By Adam Swift

Randy Couture’s resignation clearly came as a shock to UFC President Dana White. In the immediate aftermath, White lashed out at one of his favourite targets; the internet:

“This business is like a beauty salon,” White said. “These guys are all the toughest guys in the world, but they're like (expletives) in a beauty salon. They pass along rumours and gossip, which has no basis in reality and they believe [the rumours] they hear. The internet is very powerful and one of the best promotional tools we have, but it's a crazy place.” 

These are the words of a man still in shock, reeling from a stinging indictment of the company he has worked so hard to build, delivered by not only arguably its top star, but his close friend. The blow was likely even more painful because, in my estimation, White was telling Couture the truth when he said that he was the second highest paid fighter in the UFC. While the internet is not to blame, White is on the trail of the problem: the rumour and innuendo that naturally fill the void left by secrecy.

The undisclosed bonus system served the UFC well for several years. However, it is becoming clear that the company has outgrown it. It's time to let the sunlight in – greater transparency is the answer. As long as the company's pay scale is secret, paranoia and distrust will be the order of the day, ever increasing as the sport, the money, and the egos involved continue to grow.

If the UFC wants to be accepted by the professional sports establishment it has to play by the same rules. Just like the UFC, the privately owned franchises of the NFL and major League Baseball closely guard much of their financial information, with one key exception: player salaries. This fact undoubtedly has a lot to do with the player's unions, which is a fact that should encourage the UFC to act voluntarily. At the end of the day this can happen the easy way, or the hard way (at the hands of organised labour). A labour dispute is something that the sport can ill afford as it stands on the threshold of mainstream acceptance.

In addition to opening up to its fighters, the company would also be well served by levelling with its fans. The Couture situation was completely ignored on the company’s subsequent pay-per-view broadcasts. The decision to avoid the story was particularly curious in light of the significant coverage it has received from the mainstream media, particularly ESPN, as well as the company’s own public response via its website.

This of course is not a new development. Bad news such as Couture’s resignation or lightweight Champion Sean Sherk’s steroid suspension is routinely ignored on the company’s television broadcasts despite being addressed by White publicly. As a result the company's credibility, particularly that of its announcers, takes a hit with its audience, a significant portion of which are left at best confused or, worst still, insulted by the company's disregard of their knowledge of the sport. The policy is a stumbling block for the company's ascension into the world of legitimate sports and provides the perfect example of why HBO insisted on independent production as a condition or airing UFC events.

Dana White's leadership of the UFC, and the sport of MMA by default, has been nothing short of brilliant for the entirety of his tenure at Zuffa. But as the sport grows, the company must adapt its business practices to meet the new challenges it faces. While secrecy has served the company well in the past, increasingly transparency will be paramount to the company’s continued success.

The symposium held by the UFC over the weekend of November 3rd in Las Vegas was a step in the right direction. White partially attributed the conference to the Randy Couture situation. “I felt like there was obviously a lack of communication there that I thought Randy and I had. That whole thing freaked me out, so I wanted to talk to them [the media] all about that, too.”