Just curious, but does anyone know if the UFC or any other fight organization for that matter offers their fighters any benefits?
They get a shit load of coverage. They get much more exposure to sponsors.
[quote]ukrainian wrote:
They get a shit load of coverage. They get much more exposure to sponsors.[/quote]
I believe they’re talking about medical benefits and things of that nature.
I know there’s nothing like that in boxing, I really doubt they receive benefits fighting in any MMA organizations either.
[quote]goldengloves wrote:
[quote]ukrainian wrote:
They get a shit load of coverage. They get much more exposure to sponsors.[/quote]
I believe they’re talking about medical benefits and things of that nature.
I know there’s nothing like that in boxing, I really doubt they receive benefits fighting in any MMA organizations either.[/quote]
http://community.ufc.com/blog/member/T_Mac/all/life_of_an_mma_fighter_needs_change
That is all I could find about that topic. It seems like they do not get many benefits at all.
IIRC, the IFL had a salary and benefits for the team fighters instead of paying them on a purse system for their fights. Given that they were bought out by Zuffa, I guess that didn’t work out for them.
Ok, its just what i thought. Thanx guys and great links Ukrain. I knew that fighters are paid way too low, but was never sure if they got benefits. W/out getting any benefits, this is just another reason why fighters really need to get paid more. I thinks its rediculous how much fighters are getting paid compared to how much money UFC earns off of them.
Actually UFC covers for injuries sustained DURING the bout. So it’s a good strategy to go injuried to a fight if you can’t afford to pay it up for it. Then all you need to do is drop like Patrick Cote
I was just wondering, when you guys/girls in America enter an MMA/BJJ/whatever club, don’t you have to buy automatic insurance ? If I don’t buy it I would not be able to fight anywhere in Belgium.
Currently I am covered for injuries sustained during practice and competitions for the low low price of 40 â?¬ a year. I think this would be around 50 US dollars and most people are able to get insurance for that amount…
I have a big health insurance here at brazil, so it does cover almost all costs of injury, i can’t believe that there are so many PRO fighters out there without any type on insurance. One injury and it’s bye bye
[quote]ude garame wrote:
I was just wondering, when you guys/girls in America enter an MMA/BJJ/whatever club, don’t you have to buy automatic insurance ? If I don’t buy it I would not be able to fight anywhere in Belgium.
Currently I am covered for injuries sustained during practice and competitions for the low low price of 40 â?¬ a year. I think this would be around 50 US dollars and most people are able to get insurance for that amount…
[/quote]
No, insurance isn’t required.
[quote]ude garame wrote:
I was just wondering, when you guys/girls in America enter an MMA/BJJ/whatever club, don’t you have to buy automatic insurance ? If I don’t buy it I would not be able to fight anywhere in Belgium.
Currently I am covered for injuries sustained during practice and competitions for the low low price of 40 â?¬ a year. I think this would be around 50 US dollars and most people are able to get insurance for that amount…
[/quote]
Currently there is no require insurance for anything like that. I know that several places outside of the US either require or have a specific insurance offered for any kind of combat training. Several months ago I was in contact with a sports medicine council who was contemplating trying to set something up in the US, but now with the new medical insurance bill being passed, who knows what’s going to happen.
And as others have stated, in order for the state licensing body to approve the card/fights, the organization/company holding the card is responsible for any and all injuries sustained in the ring during the fight. Other than that, the fighter is on their own.
-LH
Thnx LH!
[quote]goldengloves wrote:
[quote]ude garame wrote:
I was just wondering, when you guys/girls in America enter an MMA/BJJ/whatever club, don’t you have to buy automatic insurance ? If I don’t buy it I would not be able to fight anywhere in Belgium.
Currently I am covered for injuries sustained during practice and competitions for the low low price of 40 Ã?¢?Ã?¬ a year. I think this would be around 50 US dollars and most people are able to get insurance for that amount…
[/quote]
No, insurance isn’t required.[/quote]
That’s pretty surprising. In order to play hockey in any organized league in the US, you have to carry a hockey-specific liability policy. Its cheap, like $30 a year, but you still are required to have it,.
[quote]ude garame wrote:
I was just wondering, when you guys/girls in America enter an MMA/BJJ/whatever club, don’t you have to buy automatic insurance ? If I don’t buy it I would not be able to fight anywhere in Belgium.
Currently I am covered for injuries sustained during practice and competitions for the low low price of 40 â?¬ a year. I think this would be around 50 US dollars and most people are able to get insurance for that amount…
[/quote]
Schools have to have there own insurance coverage to stay open in the states.
Here in Belgium our schools also need to be insured, but we have to pay for the insurance the school has.
Never had any problem though, we also have a national supervising organization who makes sure we don’t step into the ring or such without the proper insurance.
[quote]ude garame wrote:
Here in Belgium our schools also need to be insured, but we have to pay for the insurance the school has.
Never had any problem though, we also have a national supervising organization who makes sure we don’t step into the ring or such without the proper insurance.[/quote]
I’m assuming that the insurance you are paying for in order to practice will cover you under any injury that occurs durign training. The insurance that other’s stated that gyms need to have here in the USA only covers the gym in case of neglecence or getting sued by a client and would not just cover a “normal injury” that occurs.
For example, (if I am correct in my statement about the insurance situation in Belgium), if you were to sprain you ankle or even got a laceration that required stitches while training, you could use the insurnace purchased to go see a physician regarding it, correct? Here in the states, the insurance that the MMA gyms have would not cover the students in that situation.
If I’m incorrect in my interpretations, feel free to correct me. This is a pretty good discussion going on.
@Levelheaded: Yes, you are correct. Any injuries I get during practice, for instance a laceration, I could go to the hospital and get it stitched up. I would receive the bill from the hospital a couple of weeks later and I would forward this towards the insurance company or my MMA/BJJ school who would then pay me back the cost of any medical assistance I received.
I would not want to miss this for the world, for instance if someone goes to far on a heelhook and you have to pay for medical treatment yourself, it would become quite a costly affair.
How do you stand on this idea of paying a yearly fee for insurance like we have in Belgium?
Ude Garame - I think it would be a popular option here, especially because I’m not sure how many people’s personal insurance covers sports injuries. As far as mandating it, I can see an amateur or professional licensing body requiring it to be a member. They could probably get a pretty good group plan together too, especially if it included all the boxing gyms out there. As I’m not sure how the new health care laws affect this type of insurance, or how expensive it would be, it’s hard to say how many people would actually buy it if it wasn’t required though.
@ ude garame - I personally am all for it. Like you said, it could end up being very costly to cover the expenses of an injury that could occur during training! Many people just rely on the medical insurance they purchase on their own or that they receive through their job.
@ devildog_jim - I definitely agree with you on all you said. I could see a lot of people liking it, until it ends up becoming a financial burden and then I don’t see many people buying it. But then there would be the possibility of starting an organization group to set up affordable insurance policies specifically for combat fitness. I know there is one set up in England (i think) but I have the link on my work computer. I was actually communicating with a sports medicine organization and giving opinions regarding trying to set something up like that in the USA, but it pretty much fell through. Especially with the new health care reform going on, who knows what will happen.
One of the main reasons fighters (MMA or boxers) do not receive ‘benefits’ from the UFC or equivalent is because they are not ‘employees’.
They are essentially self-employed contractors.
Presumably, the fighters take out their own personal health insurance to protect them generally, including while they are training. The UFC or equivalent will be required to carry the necessary insurances with regard to the fighters’ participation in the event only (this is a condition of the promoter obtaining sanctioning from the relevant athletic commission). I have heard Dana White previously talk about how the UFC paid for knee operations for Tito which were sustained during training etc. but I understand this was a discretionary thing (done to protect their top brand name at the time).
Check out www.worldseriesboxing.com for an example of an organisation which intends to actually employ boxers and provide them with healthcare coverage.