BlueLander

I was just reading an article about how Dana White had to convince Silva to fight Sonnen in Vegas instead of Rio. It made me think, how much say do these champs have?

Would Silva (or any champ) have any ground to tell Dana that he refuses to fight in Vegas, and it would have to be Rio? Adding onto that, are champs able to refuse fights with people? I would hope that isn't the case, and really I always assumed if Silva refused to fight in Vegas, that he would be stripped of his title.

amoosenamedhank

You have x amount of fights in your contract and you may have a time line for those fights, but they can't force you to fight anyone.

Anyone can try and put their foot down on the specifics of the fight... obviously champs usually are big draws for the UFC so they have more bargaining power than a nobody fighter.

ASKREN4WIN

Source?

Maybe because he already signed to fight in Brazil and now the UFC has to go against the terms of the contract is why Dana had to convince him.

I would also say the bigger the star a fighter is the more say they have. Im sure AS and GSP have more say than Ben Henderson.

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BlueLander

Not sure if the Source was directed at me for the article I was reading. If so, it's: http://www.fightersonlymag.com/conte...sonnen-rematch


And yeah, that makes sense that he may have already signed to fight in Rio, but I was under the impression the venue had yet to be determined. Either way, I certainly don't have some long list of instances where champions demanded specific things, I just saw this article and It never crossed my mind that champions could turn down contenders or venues. I could understand fighters getting away with this no problem, I just assumed when you held the belt you would be at higher standards then the rest.

Mike28

They have more say than the average fighter but at the end of the day Dana is the boss.

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amoosenamedhank

Dana is only as good as his roster of fighters.

LL

Anderson, Jones, and GSP probably have a ton of say.

Bendo, Aldo, and Cruz probably get told to deal with it.

Junior probably doesn't give a shit just as long as he gets to punch someone in the head.

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ASKREN4WIN

Thanks for the source.

The fight was supposed to be at some soccer stadium in Brazil, but some conflict occured with I beleive the UN and they had to move it.

I can see why Anderson would be upset that the fight will be moved, but why does Dana have to argue with him about it? If you are a fighter then you fight no matter where it is. I dont remember Dana having to convince Sonnen to fight in Brazil. Maybe Anderson just does not want to ose his title.

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ASKREN4WIN

What are the other fighters going to do? Go fight in Bellator for way less money? Trust me when I say Anderson and GSP need the UFC much more than the UFC needs them.

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amoosenamedhank

Bad example.... Matt Brown and Dan Hardy need the UFC more than the UFC needs them. AS and GSP have enough money to retire today. The UFC needs them... trust me.