Over the past few weeks, a turf war has emerged between the longstanding Mixed Martial Arts Fighters Association (MMAFA) and the recently founded Professional Fighters Association (PFA). While the MMAFA is an established entity with the support of many respectable names, the PFA's arrival on the scene seemingly breathed new life in the plight of the fighters.
Yet while the rise of new fighter associations is a step in the right direction for collective bargaining, former Strikeforce champion and UFC veteran Cung Le is baffled by the interest in the PFA. As one of the most notable names in support of the MMAFA, Le believes an association should be viewed for its actions and not by its novelty effect.
"There are two unions," Le explained to Fighthub. "One has been around for 10 years. I'm with that one. I'm behind Rob Masey, and I'm behind MMAFA. The other union, they just came up. Why did they just pop up? They haven't been doing 10 years worth of work. MMAFA is for the fighters and for the Ali Act. The other union doesn't care about the Ali Act because they want to have a certain control over the fighters. That is my opinion."
The MMAFA has shown interest in extending the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act to MMA. A bill was introduced to Congress by Markwayne Mullin, a politician and former MMA fighter, to extend the Ali Act in the near future. While the bill is yet to go through congress, fighters like Cung Le are certain it is the solution to the seemingly low trickle-down effect in MMA.
"You can't have promoters take advantage of fighters. That is just wrong. The UFC sold for 4.2 billion USD and Dana White has made more money than all UFC fighters in history combined. That is just wrong.
"Good for him, but that is just not right."
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