A mixed martial artist fights more than three times in the initial years of his mixed martial arts career. However, as the competition gets tougher, they require more time to prepare themselves and condition their body. It won’t be wrong to say that fighting in the UFC would be every fighter’s dream considering the American promotion’s position in the world of mixed martial arts. Be that as it may, a man’s gotta earn. So can a UFC fighter fight in other promotions while under contract with the UFC?
While the idea to earn from fighting lesser competition or for another promotion in order to earn some extra money sounds simple, it’s not as easy as it sounds.
Can UFC fighters fight outside?
No. UFC fighters cannot compete outside of the UFC for obvious reasons. You will often see fighters tweeting release me from my contract when seeking the option to fight outside of the UFC. It’s common knowledge that when you are under a contract with a promotion, you cannot fight outside of that promotion. Some promotions do have the option of free agency, wherein a fighter can take part in other promotions. Often, two promotions can have ties with each other and might share their roster from time to time.
However, in the recent past, each promotion has its own roster. Additionally, some promotions due to their size and pool of talent end up taking the role of promotions that foster young talents. Promotions like Cage Warriors and or M1 Global end up churning out raw talents that make it big in the American promotion.
Additionally, it makes no sense for a smaller promotion to have one of their younger talents take on an experienced professional from the UFC. The likelihood of a match-up like that possibility taking place is slightly slim.
However, it has often been seen that fighters can take part in charity fights outside of their UFC contract. Francis Ngannou took part in a charity boxing bout against Cameroonian comedian called “Hoga.”
In the past, UFC has partnered with one of their fighters when Conor McGregor took on Floyd Mayweather in a cross-sport event for the first time in the history of combat sports entertainment.
Fighters cannot fight for other promotions while under the contract. However, they can take part in cross-promotion events under the Organization and/or look for promotions that allow free agency.
Nick Diaz made use of the same and competed in various fight promotions in the world. Diaz has been a prime example of a fighter who has made it big despite spending very little time in the UFC.
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The question of whether fighters can fight outside of the UFC came into more focus when it was rumored that UFC president Dana White vetoed Georges St-Pierre’s participation in the hugely anticipated boxing bout against Oscar De La Hoya. However, White has denied any such accusation.
Considering St-Pierre still hasn’t fulfilled his initial contract with the UFC for two fights when he made his return against Michael Bisping, he is still under UFC’s contract and would need prior permission from the UFC before competing for any other organization or promotion.
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