If Anthony Johnson hadn't lost the fight with Daniel Cormier he would never have been able to leave the UFC. The contract being as they are I believe it stipulated that if you become a champion your contract is automatically renewed whether you like it or not. The UFC have some weird dark shit in their contracts that boxing promoters are absolutely not allowed to do.
It's not that it is automatically renewed, the champions clause states that your contract is extended as long as you are champion and until a new contract is made. That means that under the champions clause a fighters contract is extended under the pay scale that is stated in the contract. A new contract means that a fighter gets stuff like better pay and what not.
He could have left anyways. Nobody could force him to fight (at least legally, yet). He just could not have fought in a different organisation. But as he's now in business outside of fighting, he would have been fine leaving as the champ.
But you are right, the UFC contracts are shady and much in disfavor to the fighters. Fighters have to sign for multiple fights and they have to fight this number of fights under the UFC until they are free again to sign with a different organisation, but the UFC can cut them basically anytime they want if they are not happy with the fighter. And true, fighters can't leave as a champ to sign with a different organisation, even if the original number of fights are over.
It's the practice of nepotism. Don't really blame the promoters too much.
I wonder if Scott regrets selling Strike Force. Come to think of it, it was actually quite a solid organization with many future champions. It had to happen though to combine the entire roster to make for compelling fights especially for the HW division at the time. Wonder why they never brought in Sergei. I miss seeing Carano fight.
I think it was a smart move. He made some money. A lot of Strikeforce fighters have/did well in the UFC. Now that he runs Bellator, he has ALL the capitol he always wanted to grow an organization. The only difference now is he's buying up talent that have proven themselves in the UFC. In the future years I see a lot of super talented guys going to Bellator cause the UFC will be stupid and not match contracts. Letting Lorenz Larkin and Rory just bounce while not promoting any new names at WW is just the beginning of something stupid.
My understanding is that Coker didn't own the majority of Strikeforce, Sharks Sports and Entertainment (at the time Silicon Valley Sports and Entertainment) was the owner. Basically it was the same deal as it is now with Bellator where Coker ran the place but didn't own it. Also my understanding is that the UFC has offered some matching contracts but the fact that Bellator allows fighters to retain their own sponsors was the deciding factor in some (not all in Henderson's case) cases.
Yeah that's what happened in the case of when Randy Couture said he wanted out. Usually fighters come to terms with a new contract before that time. Also Dana White isn't one to let a fighter go unless it's BJ Penn who signed with Fighting and Entertainment group.
Well technically if the champion vacates the title and they're at the end of the contract I think that means the fighter is released aside from maybe other things in the contract. I wouldn't know cause I don't think that has happened at all. The only time a champion vacated the title was when Frank Shamrock left and had a retirement clause so he simply said I retire.
He took that dive, that was clear as day and I have called that back then.
And lamely he protested at the commission "too late" about DC blatant towel lift to make weight. Of course, had he protested at the very moment that ridiculous act was being done and overlooked by all officials around, the fight could be called and he would be stuck to UFC all the same.
And yeah, and there's also the part a man who dropped Glover in 13 seconds out of brute force decided to wrestle the heavier wrestling specialist as Plan A... :sarcastic09:
Yeah that makes less sense then my lazy one liner posts.
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