Masvidal Asks UFC to Let Him Go

Jorge Masvidal, the BMF, has joined Jon Jones and asked to be let go of his contract. That's another UFC fighter asking for a fairer purse after Jon Jones. Let’s put it on a timeline to understand Masvidal’s frustration.  Jorge  is one of the most popular fighters right now.  After beating Askren and Diaz, it seems that he is the frontrunner to challenge Usman for the welterweight belt. However, Jorge is not happy with the money he’s being offered to fight Usman. Jon Jones is in a similar situation. He wants more money if he goes up in weight class to fight Ngannou.

During UFC 250 media scrum, Dana White said “Listen we are going through some weird times. I just saw Masvidal saying I want more money” — He followed that by saying “The whole f***ng world is losing their minds right now".

To understand the problem between the organization and fighters we should understand that  fighters are independent contractors. They can decide if they accept a fight or not.  In theory it sounds pretty good.  The question arises, can they choose to fight in another organization? The answer is no.  The UFC has a hold on a fighter and will not let them fight outside the organization. In that stipulation, fighters are more like employees of the UFC. This is Masvidal’s argument when he tweeted "I'm not an independent contract if I can't go anywhere else to make a living. Let me go and let me see if I'm worth it."

Where this leads to is anybody's guess.  Will the UFC change its relationship with fighters?  Is unionizing the best way to go for fighters? Masvidal and Jones are big players in the UFC.  With a few more voices, they could start something that could benefit all fighters and their right to higher purses.