Jon Fitch Comments on Being Cut

Seriously. Jon Fitch guy has brass balls.

Mike Swick’s one of my favorite fighters and he immediately called up Dana to say that he was with the UFC. Swick is doing what he has to do to keep food on his table and I understand that. He hasn’t one 8 in a row and fought for the title yet but Jon Fitch is standing on principles and fighting the machine.

How do you not like this guy?

Well, and with Jon not doing what Swick did and telling his manager to piss up a rope (figuratively speaking, of course).

"This is not an attack on Jon Fitch. It’s not an attack on any one fighter. We have chosen not to do business with this camp called AKA. These guys have never, ever, ever treated us like partners. They’re always fighting over stupid, stupid (stuff) and negotiating over stuff that makes no sense. They’re negotiating like they’ve got Mel Gibson and this thing is the biggest movie ever being made. You know what I’m saying? The reality is, we’re not even sanctioned in Massachusetts or New York … (and) we’re going into all these different countries trying to do these different things. And I’ve got these guys that basically don’t want to be partners with me. You’ve got morons — morons — that are running these fighters’ lives. But to tell you the truth, one of the fighters from AKA called me and said, "Listen, I don’t care what these managers say or what they’re doing. I make my own decisions and my decision is, I’m with you. I’m your partner, I’m in.’ And this was before we even told AKA we wouldn’t be doing business with them any more. So this really isn’t an attack on Jon Fitch or any personal fighter. We’re just choosing not to do business with AKA any more. We’re not going to do business with them. And listen, there’s other guys out there that they can go do business with; they’re just not going to do business with me. Now there’s rumors out there, I know, about, ‘It’s over a video game deal. It’s over the ancillary rights agreement. It’s over this, that.’It’s over a lot of different things. It’s not one specific fighter or one specific thing. It’s about a lot of different things with a lot of these fighters. And you know what? This is more than just AKA. There’s other camps out there that we’re having trouble doing business with. And at the end of the day, this is a business. We run a business just like any other business. You come in, you do your job with your company and you get paid. And the guys that don’t want to do business with you — then go work somewhere else. It’s as easy as that. You don’t have to do business with us. There’s other people out there you can do it with."

Take it for what it is. Sounds like UFC is done dealing with the Mark Dion’s of the world.

I say whatever, in my business, if no one wants to agree to our terms or our price. Find another partner.

I promise I will download whatever PPV John Fitch is on.

Amen to that.

Read my Fanpost “The Argument for Fitch.” Randy, Anderson, and Chuck aren’t going to still be fighting when this sport blows up even bigger and that contract language actually matters. Randy and Chuck are old and Anderson says he’s going to retire in a year. Fitch is 30 years old. He’s got another decade left in the sport and hasn’t earned close to the money those guys make. That language is going to directly affect him. Plus, the reason he’s pissed isn’t based just on the contract language but the ultimatum they gave him and unwillingness to negotiate. I’m sure they would’ve bended a little for any of those guys.

To quote dropkick101 on "respect":

Hell, he was cut from the Ultimate Fighter while at the airport, getting ready to board a plane to do the show. This was after he quit his job and put his life on hold the be on TUF. Then, he gets in the UFC and is constantly being relegated to the undercard despite his victories, appearing on the main card once in his first five fights. Instead, he was passed up by guys who appeared on the reality show. He ultimately keeps winning and eventually defeats reality show winner Diego Sanchez, the guy who took his spot on TUF. Fitch fights for the title and goes 5 rounds with one of the top p4p fighters IN THE WORLD, showing an unparalleled will to win and an iron jaw despite his technical disadvantages. Then, he decides its not the best decision to let the UFC own his likeness for eternity, just in case the sport gets even bigger. He tells them it might be a little more fair to do, say, a contract lasting TEN YEARS. The UFC says "no, sign it or you’re cut." Fitch puts his fucking foot down and says "SUCK MY BRASS BALLS. YOU GUYS MIGHT HAVE THE POWER BUT I HAVE MY FUCKING DIGNITY. NICE KNOWING YOU."

Please tell me this is sarcasm.

Depends on the plan. Depends on the company. Depends on the employee. Depends on the boss.

besides, selling microwaves at BestBuy isn’t quite as specialized and rare a talent as trying to beat people up in a cage.

I’ve told my authorities to their face that they were wrong and I wouldn’t go along with their ideas. I was roundly shuffled out. In this instance, I also turned out being right – the office almost went bankrupt because of their plans.

Most other businesses don’t follow a practice of making its employees sign separate contracts unrelated to their main purpose of employment and then fire the employee for not cooperating.

What a terrible analogy.

Fitch is an indpendent contractor, not some company man wage slave. When his employer decides to change the stipulations of his employment, it’s absolutely his prerogative to agree or disagree with those terms- or even to negotiate for better terms.

He’s lending himself to the power struggle between his management and the UFC, knowingly or otherwise.

Call Dana and tell him what you want to do. Dana is good to guys who are above board with him and show him respect throughout their disagreements.

Yes, because Jon Fitch is educated in all sorts of contractual law, intellectual property rights, and the like. He definitely should be handling his own contract negotiations…

Fitch wasn’t the one who made it personal. White was the one who told him to fuck himself if he didn’t sign on the dotted line.

that the UFC is not just some huge monster unwilling to work issues out with fighters?

I tend to think that’s how this will end as well. Though, it’s tough to blame folks who take umbrage over this on principle.

On principle. In reality, we are all ignorant to 95% of the details of this story and of the way the UFC handles their ancillary rights agreements.

The truth almost certainly falls somewhere in the middle of what Fitch & co. and what Dana would have you believe. I think it would behoove everyone to remember that before flying so haphazardly to one side of the argument or the other.

suck to make $169,000 for one fight not including endorsements. I cannot see why Fitch did not walk away a long time ago from the UFC because he was treated so shitty.

You’re right. He is nothing without the Zuffa brand. The UFC is usually right in these types of situations. This is not one of those. The UFC called up fighters, all but demanding they sign an agreement giving up their likeness in video games exclusively for life. Exclusive. For Life. You don’t know what’s going to happen down the road in this company, in the sport, in a fighters career. Fitch tries to negotiate for a five or ten year time limit and is told to either sign it or get cut. You tell me that’s fair? You tell me that guy refusing to sign based on the fact that he had a shell of dignity and didn’t want to be forced into something he didn’t think was right wasn’t an act we can all be jealous of?