AKA: Sure, Train With Us, but Only if We Get a Percent of Your Income

by Michael Rome on Dec 10, 2009 6:33 PM EST in MMA News

When Affliction went down in flames, Paul Buentello decided he might want to go to the UFC. Dana White's feelings on Zinkin Entertainment are well known, and Buentello decided to replace Bob Cook and get a new manager. As a result, Buentello was suspended from the American Kickboxing Academy, where he's trained since 2000:

According to the fighter and his long-time trainer and friend, Dave Velasquez of Nor Cal Fight Factory, the dispute arose when Buentello replaced Cook with a new manager.

"I’ve always came to this crossroads, if I ever go back to the UFC, I gotta have somebody on board that’s gonna sell me like I’m the best thing since sliced bread," said Buentello. The native Texan believes that someone is Elis Pacheco of New York-based Dedos Marketing Group, which has worked with Ice-T, Fat Joe and Beyonce Knowles.

Cook, Buentello’s former manager and trainer, declined comment.

The practice of trainers simultaneously working as agents for fighters needs to change. It's very commonplace in MMA because the low payouts keep the big agencies out of the sport, but it results in a number of issues that impact fighters negatively.

There are a number of potential situations in which an agent's interests and a trainer's interests will diverge. For example, if a fighter at AKA was doing great in the wrestling department, but really needed striking help to reach the next level, a good agent would try to seek out a camp that could give his client what he needs to reach that next level. If the agent is also the fighter's trainer, and is making money off the fighter paying to train each month, there is an incentive to keep him in camp and away from others. There's no problem with a camp doing management, but the trainer and manager should not be the same guy.

What happens a lot is young fighters come to a big camp like AKA or ATT, and they end up signing on to be managed by the camp as well. So then if they ever want to get better representation, they have to worry about being ostracized by their partners or kicked out by their camp. I have no objection to camps managing fighters, but threatening to throw them out of training for seeking new representation is an outrage.

I remember hearing Jon Fitch say that before he went out to fight GSP, Bob Cook told him not to throw any lazy leg kicks. It really struck me as bizarre; you'd never see Kobe Bryant's agent telling him to make sure to rotate more on a jump shot. Is there any way someone who is teaching people jiu-jitsu for hours at a time during the day is really doing the best job they can representing a fighter?

One wonders if Cain Velasquez and Jon Fitch would be suspended from AKA if they ever decided they wanted a new agent or manager.

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Sounds like a huge conflict of interest

I wonder if this has anything to do with AKA guys not wanting to fight each other as well.

by b2tharad on Dec 10, 2009 6:11 PM EST reply actions

Definitely a conflict of interest. I work in a profession where I have to abide by certain rules and codes of ethics, and it’s clear to me this type of manager / trainer situation is not professional at all. For the fighters’ sakes, this has to change. It’s totally bizarre that this sort of arrangement exists and a fighter who signs onto this type of arrangement has to be very wary of the potential pitfalls.

I love me some Sexyama!

by pud333 on Dec 10, 2009 6:14 PM EST reply actions

It will be very interesting to see how the increased influx of money to fighters will change the current athlete representation model in MMA. Currently, due to the lack of bargaining power most US fighters have there isn’t very much negotiation that agents can do regarding the actual fight contract for most fighters . At this point an agent’s major job is to work on sponsors.

Giving Shogun his props. I had the fight 48-47 Machida but Shogun put up a monumental performance and I am honored to have seen it in person.

by Day Man on Dec 10, 2009 6:15 PM EST reply actions

Great article.

I hope more people get on board and start questioning all the conflict of interest situations that could potentially be effecting fighters in the sport of MMA.

Just BE.

by mattman73 on Dec 10, 2009 6:23 PM EST reply actions

Or some guys who own clothing brands and manage fighters

don’t always make the best sponsorship decision for their clients. If they get a cut from a fighter, they can get a max of 15 years of value. If they own a brand, it can support them for life. Which matters more?

by pdl on Dec 10, 2009 6:32 PM EST reply actions

Zak Woods has an interesting analogy: to that of a union worker crossing the picket line during a strike.

It is quite simple really. The high cost of training has lead many fighters to band together in gyms that provide services outside of mere facilities to work out in. Take American Kickboxing Academy for instance. This gym provides lawyers, managers and sponsors for the fighters that pay to be apart of the gym. In a sense AKA is a mini-fighter’s guild already functioning and dealing with the UFC. While fighter’s are still free to make independent decisions they are all providing support for one another without prejudice to what tier a fighter is currently in e.g. local promotion vs. Strikeforce vs. UFC.

He also postulates that some may see Buentello’s UFC return coincide with him leaving AKA management and will claim that the UFC is using their leverage to block new, even returning fighters, from using AKA management.

I have no opinion of this, as yet, since I don’t know the workings or the understanding that AKA fighters are under. But I thought Mr. Wood’s view was an interesting one to bring into the discussion.

by John Nash on Dec 10, 2009 6:32 PM EST reply actions 1 recs

Agreed.

Good read. Also, this is all VERY common in MMA still since the sport is so young. You have promoters who manage fighters and who are doing the matchmaking to start up their own brand. You have to wear different hats and reduce as much expenses as possible in a start up. In this case, camps that offer this service help those that don’t have enough money or contacts to get a camp, manager, PR team, etc.

by MMASuPreMaCy on Dec 10, 2009 6:37 PM EST up reply actions

Yeah, I was about to post something along the same lines. These fight teams could stand to be better organized, but they’re far more likely to represent fighters’ best interests than a promotion, and when these teams can leverage their collective brand, they provide the fighters on that team with benefits akin to that of a mini-fighters’ union.

by madiq on Dec 10, 2009 6:37 PM EST up reply actions

Yeah It must be Dana’s fault… You blind mice need to find a new tune.

The guild is not an agent who negotiates individual contracts nor are they your fukin acting coach.

I dont have a problem with AKA’s business model nor Buentellos decision to leave. To each his own. But to compare this to a picket line is stupid.

Kicking him out of the gym may seem like the wrong thing to do but on the flip side some of these gyms invest in these fighters initially in order to see their return down the road. Sometimes shops have sales and coupons where you get goods and services at a loss or break even as long as you buy other products and services to make up for it.

In this business you don’t need a “Jerry McGuire” to field and negotiate for you when there’s all of about 2 options for any fighter… so for some fighters what an “AKA” offers is valuable and for others its not a good fit. Buentello wants more personal attention and customization so he went a different route.

Simple as that.

by mmalogic on Dec 10, 2009 7:58 PM EST up reply actions

You still need it for some obvious reasons. Why do you think top tennis players have agents? Which organizations are those agents playing off one another? Building a guy into a star is not something the UFC does all that well, it takes careful and smart career management combined with building relationships with the kind of companies and sponsors that can turn that fighter into a mainstream star.

Tennis agents don’t even get a percent on tournament winnings, but every top tennis player has an agent.

by Michael Rome on Dec 10, 2009 8:45 PM EST up reply actions

True – the top level guys would do well with proper sports marketing – but the potential of that is created by what the fighter does in the UFC just like tennis (which they can leverage off of). Thats almost an entirely different function than managing your career in the UFC.

by mmalogic on Dec 10, 2009 9:33 PM EST up reply actions

The proper functions of a good agent in MMA for stars are:

1. Top level sports marketing;
2. Making sure your fighter doesn’t do stupid things;
3. Making sure your fighter is getting the proper training and atmosphere for success;
4. Picking and choosing smart fights that help them develop while maximizing exposure.

Just an example, but a good agent for Jon Jones would never, ever have challenged the result. it will never get overturned, it doesn’t matter if it does, and it will only hurt his reputation to carry on something like this.

The job is to build an image and a following for your fighter, and then it’s up to the fighter to deliver, and then the agent capitalizes on that to leverage them into big deals. Shari Spencer did a great job getting GSP a big deal, much higher than what he was offered at first.

by Michael Rome on Dec 10, 2009 9:43 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs

you should call jon jones and poach him the same way Buentello got poached.

Tiger woods will lose more than 50 million directly (pre-nup renegotiation) and untold millions from lost sponsorships because he couldnt keep his dick in his pants… maybe you should poach him instead.

AKA isnt perfect, neither is monte cox, etc… but there’s nobody else doing it because for every jon jones theres a hundred with as much potential who fizzle out.

AKA, Monte, ATT, etc… make investments upfront and if they dont keep there house in order they will lose out on those investments to poachers like Ken Pavia.

This is a very expensive sport to break into – Gyms play a big role in subsidizing it.

Ken Pavia picks his nose. Right now there is an opportunity for someone who knows what they are doing to poach competently and not have the upfront headaches of trying to discover a jon jones and let UFC do all the work.

GSP already made it and was primed for this.

Mark dion tried to play games with a “jon jones” (Brandon Vera, and Noons) and now nobody does business with him.

There’s no money in a jon jones until he becomes a GSP for anybody worth his bread to waste time on it… That’s why we have the bottom of the barrel type of guys like Ken Pavia running around like a little munchkin.

I agree even though guys like Monte, AKA, etc have good intentions, are necessary for the sport…. they lack the attention and resources needed for a guy like GSP to go to the next level. Buantello?

Zuffa doesnt give a shit if he’s represented by AKA or Carrot Top. He’s mexican and that’s all that mattered.

He felt better with some other dude and that’s his call. AKA kicked him out and that’s there call.

Super agents wont survive in this business. Ask Randy’s.

by mmalogic on Dec 10, 2009 11:28 PM EST up reply actions

$50 million, just a drop in the bucket for Tiger.

by bignerd on Dec 11, 2009 2:02 AM EST up reply actions

If Kobe Bryant’s agent was Dan Majerle, he probably would help him with his jump shot. Whether he was acting as manager or trainer, Cook telling Fitch to avoid lazy low kicks was good advice… too bad Fitch threw them anyway and got clobbered as a result.

In general it is easy to view manager/promoters as a necessary evil. For example: would K-1 be as strong if it didn’t have a streamlined gym like Golden Glory feeding them talent? The same applies to AKA, ATT, Xtreme Couture, Yoshida Dojo etc. and the big MMA shows.

Anyway, it would be interesting to hear the AKA side of this story.

by smoogy2 on Dec 10, 2009 6:38 PM EST reply actions 2 recs

There are always 2 sides, but

I don’t think the problem here is that Cook was giving bad advice about how to fight. AKA has top tier trainers no doubt, including Cook. The problem isn’t with the training. The problem is w/ Cook’s management of his fighters.

This isn’t to say that AKA doesn’t have their side of the story (for all we know, the truth could be very different), or that camps shouldn’t do management at all. From the information we have currently, tough, this is very shabby.

by jhf884 on Dec 10, 2009 7:28 PM EST up reply actions

The problem is more specifically with AKA management style and the UFC. Pretty sure other promotions love AKA.

So no AKA doesn’t always do what is in the best interest of it’s individual fighters but they know that before they join. Buentello knew that and made this move anyways. He will likely make more money doing this anyways as Dana will want to entice other AKA fighters to do the same.

I also find it funny the sentiment “it’s okay for a manager to take a percentage, but how dare a trainer take a percentage also!”

by natyong on Dec 11, 2009 5:20 AM EST up reply actions

I don’t think the problem is with the trainer taking a cut, it’s the problem that someone is wearing both hats, and forcing the fighter to hire them to wear both hats or neither hat.

If a fighter wants to have the same manager and trainer, that’s fine. But it’s messed up that you will only be the guys manager and trainer, and that you will stop training the guy if he seeks out another manager.

by Phildo on Dec 11, 2009 8:22 AM EST up reply actions

Where in the article does it say this? The second pertinent link is broken for me. I remember reading somewhere else Buentello said it was a temporary ban until things got sorted out.

A temporary ban is very smart in my opinion. Until very recently Buentello was very happy with the situation like many of Cook’s fighters. Let cooler heads prevail and then find a solution to a problem. Who has access to what information about training partners? How is security of this information enforced? What changes in percentages will happen if any? How will Buentello help other fighters for a lesser percentage? All huge questions that would need a happy medium.

Unless I’m missing something the article seems say they are willing to find a way for Buentello to continue training with them.

by natyong on Dec 11, 2009 7:54 PM EST up reply actions

Just to be clear, I don’t have a problem w/ trainers taking a %. I have problems w/ managers w/ clear conflict of interest.

Trainers who manage their fighters personally always have a higher risk of that happening.

Obviously, Gyms are well w/i their rights to say, train w/ us, be managed by us – or else. That’s a short-sighted approach, but I don’t think it is necessarily unethical. But how clear is this upfront to the fighters? And then, the real danger is that the Gym represents it best interests and not that of the fighters.

by jhf884 on Dec 11, 2009 3:56 PM EST up reply actions

There is always going to be a conflict of interest. A good manager ofter promotes himself seemingly at the expense of their client. Scott Boras is bigger than many of his clients.

A League always conflicts with a teams wishes. Yankees and Cowboys often times have a big problem with revenue sharing decisions. Teams owners, always have a conflict with coaches, coaches with players….

As you said it’s a disclosure thing. I doubt very much Buentello being one of the first AKA fighters didn’t expect this and I’m pretty sure I saw a quote where he said that he did, but that it still hurt/sucked.

by natyong on Dec 11, 2009 8:06 PM EST up reply actions

Rec for a Dan Majerle reference. Go Chippewas!

by jrobb20 on Dec 10, 2009 8:37 PM EST up reply actions

I sense an unholy alliance of AKA, Hoelzer Reich and Wamma uniting to destroy BE…

by TLow on Dec 10, 2009 8:22 PM EST reply actions

Brent will deal with them.

I dislike Matt Hughes. Shogun beat him like a dirty horse.

by MonkeyCHops on Dec 10, 2009 8:35 PM EST up reply actions

I’m honestly surprised more fighters haven’t started looking to get aligned with big time sports agents/marketers yet.

It’s one thing to have an agent that has a relationship with dana and coker the people at FEG to get nice fight contracts, but most fighters get most of their money from sponsors. They need to be looking for people that have relationships with the companies that are/could be looking to get on their shorts in the cage of give them opportunities outside of the cage.

by Phildo on Dec 10, 2009 8:39 PM EST reply actions

The FEG guys don’t get paid dick. Huge misconception, the lightweights over there are not being paid big money at all.

There are a whole bunch of reasons places like Legacy Sports aren’t in this thing. I actually spoke with their head guy about it. They don’t know it like they know baseball, they see the UFC as extremely anti-agent, and until there’s some kind of union they’re not willing to invest resources in it that could make more money elsewhere. Especially when they don’t really know it. Besides about the top 12-15 guys in the sport, no athletes are making any real money.

by Michael Rome on Dec 10, 2009 8:48 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs

But thank god in a few years we’ll only have one organization: the NFL of MMA. And it’ll be without teams competing over players, a players’ union, or a collective bargaining agreement. So fighters’ salaries are sure to rise.

by John Nash on Dec 10, 2009 8:56 PM EST up reply actions

Then maybe agent was the wrong term. I read the Buentello story earlier in the week and thought it made sense for fighters who have a fight contract signed to look elsewhere to find someone who can get them more money, and that can be done through sponsors.

Maybe the big sports agents don’t want to jump in because there’s only so much money they’ll be able to squeeze out of Dana, but there has to be people who can do a better job than the current crop at getting sponsors for these guys.

by Phildo on Dec 10, 2009 8:58 PM EST up reply actions

I wonder how much of this has to do with the restrictive image rights the UFC allows? Apparently the standard UFC Exclusive Promotional and Ancillary Rights Agreement does require a fighter to sign over his eternal rights to his "name, sobriquet, voice, persona, signature, likeness and/or biography." That’s a lot of hurdles for an agent to work around if he wants to market his client.

by John Nash on Dec 10, 2009 9:04 PM EST up reply actions

What happen with Fitch and the videogame?

by Kefka on Dec 10, 2009 11:53 PM EST reply actions

He signed. He was rehired.

by natyong on Dec 11, 2009 5:22 AM EST up reply actions

It makes it all the more impressive that Greg Jackson doesn’t take a dime from his fighters.

by Jason_73 on Dec 10, 2009 11:54 PM EST reply actions

Now this...

…is funny. I remember Greg telling me this was true…they give it to his wife!

by Jonathan Snowden on Dec 11, 2009 12:21 AM EST up reply actions

Bob Cook

Is not training these guys for hours a day. LOL.

by Jonathan Snowden on Dec 11, 2009 12:17 AM EST reply actions

I obviously realize that, I thought the implication about trainers in general coaching and managing their fighters was pretty obvious. It’s common practice at ATT and elsewhere.

by Michael Rome on Dec 11, 2009 2:06 AM EST up reply actions

You could even hear Bob in Swick’s corner yelling fighting advice to him during the fight. It’s super bush league in my opinion, but I guess that’s just the way things are run right now.

by Michael Rome on Dec 11, 2009 2:20 AM EST up reply actions

you go to a heart doctor b/c of their expertise on hearts. the same for an accountant and your taxes. if you want a fight manager, you get someone who that is what they eat, live, sleep, and breathe. odd that in a sport where you should go to specialists for types of training, a manager would want to train and a trainer would want to manage and get mad at a fighter for seeking the best in both aspects.

and yeah, it is an outrage to leverage him out of camp for not wanting a coach to manage him. straight up, no other way to put it.

Gatti. Dekkers. Pele. Aoki. Kang. Vanderlei. Basillio. Harry Greb.

by theworldsoldestsport on Dec 11, 2009 11:38 AM EST reply actions