Mark Dion: Terrible Agent

by Michael Rome on Aug 21, 2008 5:26 PM EDT in News Comment 15 comments

One of the biggest stories nobody ever talks about in MMA is the inadequacy of fighter management. The top agents aren't in the game, so fighters are either managed by their coaches, who have no experience, or by hacks like Mark Dion.

This interview he just did with MMA Junkie really says it all. He knows nothing about what is good for his fighters, and his quotes show it.

As far as Nick Diaz, he's not the No. 1 contender out there. To EliteXC he is. He's the number one for getting eyeballs to watch them...KJ is not the one who gets anything out of the fight. Diaz does and so does Pro Elite.

Really? KJ Noons gets nothing out of millions of fans seeing him beat the crap out of Nick Diaz?

"Look at Brandon Vera," Dion said. "He had a long layoff, but he's making more money than the No. 1 ranked [expletive] fighter in the world, Anderson Silva -- or the same amount.

"And now Anderson Silva is getting Bud Light sponsorships from (UFC President) Dana (White) handed down to him. He's getting to fight at 205 (pounds). He's kind of telling them what he wants to do. Why? Because you got people like Brandon Vera, who's on a losing streak and not performing, making more money than the most valuable guy.

"Who do you think negotiated that [expletive] contract a year and a half ago? And if you look at my Post-it, the one I negotiated was a $7 million deal for four years. It's nothing close to [$100,000] and [$100,000] (as a win bonus). As far as trying to bring in the Mark Dion negatives and stuff, good luck. Show me any negatives on it. And that's just a pitch [EliteXC] can use. But hey, I know my [expletive]. I've been around this sport a long, long time."

Anderson Silva is earning 200,000 to show plus points on each Pay Per View under his new deal. How can you negotiate for your clients in MMA without knowing something that is so widely known among people following the business? They gave him that sponsorship because he's on a superstar contract now and they want him to draw like one. They asked him to fight at 205 pounds.

This showdown is almost certainly about money. EliteXC doesn't have it, Dion wants it. However, given EliteXC's status, it would surely be in the long term interest of his client to be on national television in a title match. He could have probably even negotiated his way into the semi-main event, where millions could see him on CBS.

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Ya, Dion is ridiculous. He wants KJ to have nothing to do with Alvarez right now and knows Alvarez is unavailable. Just posturing for more money to fight Diaz, plain and simple. And given how much exposure KJ would get with a fight on CBS, it’s just plain stupid.

by LiuLang on Aug 21, 2008 5:36 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

If he was in the semi main event of a hot brawl that ended with him KOing Diaz, which I’m pretty sure it would….he would all of a sudden be a pretty solid commodity that the UFC and Affliction would be interested in.

The only way this makes sense is if they’re insisting on him signing like a 6 fight exclusive deal to do it. Even then, his comments about Anderson Silva are still an embarrassment.

by Michael Rome on Aug 21, 2008 5:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

That’s a good point about the contract, does anyone know how many fights KJ has left? A TKO of Diaz on CBS would raise KJ’s stock, so if he only has a fight or two left, maybe EliteXC does want him to resign first.

by LiuLang on Aug 21, 2008 6:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

f he was in the semi main event of a hot brawl that ended with him KOing Diaz, which I’m pretty sure it would

Here’s a list of people who have KO’ed Nick Diaz:

….

When they last fought, Noons threw everything he had at Diaz and turned him into a bloody mess and came nowhere near knocking him out.

by George Lucas on Aug 21, 2008 6:01 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Wasn’t he TKO’d by Jeremy Jackson ages ago?

by LiuLang on Aug 21, 2008 6:04 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

He was beating the everloving shit out of him, and if i recall correctly knocked him down at least once. Diaz looked terrible, couldn’t knock him down, etc. He was going to lose that fight.

by Michael Rome on Aug 21, 2008 6:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

No doubt he was losing/going to lose. He just wasn’t going to get KO’ed.

by George Lucas on Aug 21, 2008 6:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think it’s real hard to say. Noons definitely had the power to knock him out, he was just picking him apart with body shots to set up openings. I really hope this whole ordeal isn’t the last we see of Noons in MMA for a while.

by Michael Rome on Aug 21, 2008 6:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Excellent write up as usual.

I think the money is there for KJ and him and Dion knows it. KJ isn’t exactly a draw and is probably overpaid as it is and they know it. I think KJ wants no piece of Diaz again, especially a pissed off Diaz.

by steveoc24 on Aug 21, 2008 5:45 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, he ‘negotiated’ for $7 million over 4 years, then he turned that offer down without consulting Vera because he thought he could do even better (and we all know how that turned out). Some agent.

by ilostmydog on Aug 21, 2008 5:58 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

http://www.cityboxing.com/arbitration.aspx

Dion didn’t black out Dana’s direct email address on the post-it. I bet its been changed since then but its still pretty unprofessional.

Also of note in the email/counteroffer he wrote to Dana, “contract will extend only do to fighter injury” – You don’t often see mistakes like that in million dollar negotiations.

Finally the best sentence in the email is “"The Truth” is that Brandon Vera’s the Muhammad Ali of MMA and Muhammed Ali was definitely never over paid". Get the F out of here.

by Day Man on Aug 21, 2008 6:01 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Is it just me or does anyone else think that KJ couldn’t hack it in the UFC? Either at 170 or 155. Is this the same guy that represented Vera in his failed contract negotiations and was let go? I’ve never been a fan of KJ, the first fight I saw was the Crazy Horse, but doesn’t he have a clue what a coward his management is making him look like? Drop that azz like a bad habit and get back to work…oh and act like being a Champion means something to you.

by dugmouth on Aug 21, 2008 8:37 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Agents like dion won’t last in MMA as Ive said before you can only negotiate so much and be tolerated.

This is not NBA, MLB or the NFL where you have a host of options…

You have 1 real option and several fleating ones.

That’s why you don’t see more managers like him in MMA. The other managers actually want to make a living in this sport.

So they have to play nice with the UFC because they have a whole host of fighters.

How many fighters does Dion have?

Exactly, he knows KJ is basically his last payday in this industry as the UFC won’t work with him anymore – that means fighters won’t want him representing them.

Dion is Vadim Finkelstien light… trying to milk his only asset.

by mmalogic on Aug 21, 2008 8:48 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I am not a big fan of Diaz, and I certainly think he has looked less than stellar lately, but let me ask folks this:

If you are a fighter and your company is struggling, do you put your support behind the company to help them persevere, or do you step away and wait and see if they die?

To me, it seems like Dion and Noons are backing away from a very ill Pro-Elite.

I have been critical of Elite and have pointed out numerous mistakes they have made, but nobody can deny that they have pushed Noons quite a bit and promoted him extensively.

by Lynchman on Aug 21, 2008 10:49 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Yep, they wanted him to be the poster boy from the beginning, however Mr. Charles “Crazy Horse” Bennett but the breaks on that on the first Elite XC card on Showtime.

by Day Man on Aug 22, 2008 4:31 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs