Previously, Sean O’Malley put out a cryptic tweet about MMA managers being bad. At the time, many assumed that O’Malley was referring to his own management. As such, fans and Aljamain Sterling felt that their fight was potentially at risk, however, the matter is much different than anticipated.
For the most part, O’Malley has been one of the UFC’s breakout stars in recent times. A top-class striker with a certain flair about his movement, The Sugar Show has become somewhat of a fan favorite. Thus, many have been actively following the 28-year-old star and his different avenues. So when O’Malley put out his tweet about MMA managers, a lot of people took notice.
Recently, in an interview with Aaron Bronsteter of TSN, O’Malley further explained the situation. “I’m waiting to release it the right way. It will be … I think it’ll be a big deal, it’ll be massive, and it will hurt someone’s business, and rightfully so”. Further, he adds, “I gotta talk to my legal team and make sure we’re doing everything right. But yeah, MMA managers are so bad. It’s horrible, it’s embarrassing; they’re stealing money from fighters; they’re taking percentages of [their] bonuses. That really p***es me off, to be honest.”
As for O’Malley himself, he revealed to Ariel Helwani the state of his management ahead of the Petr Yan fight. At the time, Sean revealed that he was his own manager. According to the fighter, he did not want anyone else getting a piece of the pie from his winnings and has thus taken matters into his own hands.
Daniel Cormier believes that Sean O’Malley is ‘100% right’
For the most part, many fighters have previously spoken out about MMA managers in the past. Over time, fighters have started negotiating their own contracts and fights, cutting out any middlemen. The most notable examples of this are Colby Covington, Aljamain Sterling, and Dominick Cruz. Even Sean recently proved that a fighter does not require a manager to secure a high-paying contract with the UFC.
Often, managers will take a percentage of the fighter’s earnings in exchange for doing simple negotiations. Since most fighters have their hands full with other things, they chose to leave their finances to the managers. Further, the managers also try and take a cut out of the fighter’s bonus winnings as well. Considering the outrage about fighter pay, having to pay copious amounts to one’s management can really dent a fighter’s earnings.
As such, Daniel Cormier, who has never paid his management out of his bonuses, also had his say on the matter. “Here’s the way it should work and has worked since the beginning of mixed martial arts. You pay your gym, you pay your coaches, you pay your management”. Further, DC continues by saying, “Sean O’Malley is right. Sean O’Malley is 100% right because managers are not entitled to what the athlete makes on the night of the competition”. According to DC, the managers and coaches should only be paid for the work that they put in for the preparation of the fight.
Currently, O’Malley is still exploring and weighing his options on how to release the information that he has. An advocate for fighter pay, fans and fighters can rest assured that the Arizona native will bring justice to the oppressed. With that said, do you believe that managers and coaches should get part of a fighter’s bonuses? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
