Scott Coker ‘baffled’ by UFC uniform deal: ‘It should be against the labor laws’

Bellator president Scott Coker may be making a run at breaking into PPV, but that doesn’t mean he’s about to follow the UFC’s lead on fight kits.

The battle between employee and independent contractor status didn’t start with the UFC. And frankly, given the hyper-individualistic and competitive nature of the sport, that battle may still be a long way away from anything the promotion has to actually confront. But, whenever (if ever) that day does arrive, it seems a near certainty that one of the major talking points will be over the UFC’s Reebok deal.

The Zuffa-era decision to bring in a single sponsor, to take over outfitting of the 500+ (at any given time) fighters under contract, cut a serious hole in some fighters’ pockets. No longer allowed to display personal sponsors on in-cage banners or on clothing, many athletes were cut down to fractions of what they made previously in non-purse money on fight night. It also called into question the assertion that fighters were “independent contractors.” Just how independent could they be if they can’t even wear their own clothes?

That’s the question Bellator CEO Scott Coker is asking in a recent interview on the MMA Hour (transcript via MMA Mania):

“Listen, they're independent contractors," Coker said. "How they're forced to wear uniforms, to this day, still baffles me. It should be against the labor laws or something. Because you have to wear this sponsor? You have to wear a certain uniform when you fight? To me, they should be contractual position to get whatever sponsor they want. If Ryan Bader went out and made a million dollars in sponsorship, good for you!"

Coker also pointed out that, unlike the UFC in their pre-Reebok era, the promotion also doesn’t charge a ‘sponsor tax.’ Which means that whatever brands fighters can attract represents money for them and them only.

For some fighters, like Ryan Bader, that’s meant a return to his pre-Reebok sponsor numbers. For others, like Rory MacDonald, they’re still working to put all the right pieces in place to get what they used to make during their UFC run. Either way, the lack of mandated uniforms is likely to remain a strong lure that Bellator can use to keep drawing away veteran talent who feel they can make more money on their own. And could represent a key legal battle for fighters somewhere down the line.