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[likebutta]

Zuffa set to offer fighters accident insurance
Kevin Iole

By Kevin Iole, Yahoo! Sports


The Ultimate Fighting Championship provides a $100,000 insurance policy on each fighter during one of its cards to cover any injuries the athlete sustains in a match. Most state athletic commissions require $50,000 worth of coverage and some require as low as $25,000 per athlete.

But the worst-case scenario for a mixed martial arts fighter is to suffer an injury days before a fight that requires him or her to pull out of a scheduled bout. That means no paycheck, as well as a stack of medical bills, because the event insurance only covered injuries suffered during a match. As independent contractors, the fighters are only paid if they compete and, until now, the UFC has not been responsible for paying for out-of-competition injuries.


Zuffa LLC, the company that owns both UFC and Strikeforce, is taking steps to erase that problem. Lorenzo Fertitta, the UFC’s chairman and chief executive officer, said the company plans to offer accident insurance that will cover approximately 350 athletes in the event of out-of-competition injury, effective June 1.

MMA fighters and boxers are not employees. They are independent contractors and thus aren’t eligible for things like health-care coverage.

But injuries to fighters, either in the cage or during training, can be disastrous. That’s why Fertitta said he and UFC president Dana White began looking into the potential of offering the fighters accident insurance nearly three years ago.

Zuffa will pay 100 percent of the premiums, Fertitta said, and will have a full-time employee who will coordinate the claims process.

Rest of the article here: Zuffa set to offer fighters accident insurance | Yahoo! Sports

This is a good thing IMO. Should help ease some of the stress on the fighters.

[YukonJordan]

It's a good start for sure.

[Adambomb]

Holy crap. This is huge, and incredibly expensive for Zuffa. It probably makes business sense as it gives them some leverage to keep fighter salaries down, but will also help the fighters a ton.

[Kimbo> Rampage]

It all depends. For some it is good and others it is less for them to be paid.

[Y2JUBAE]

Great job!

[CtGreat]

Fantastic!

[the_dark_angel_4ever]

That's incredible. Granted the UFC can use this to keep the salaries down, but personally, I'd happily take a salary cut to have this kind of protection.

[JCVD]

A step in the right direction.

[TheKidInside]

doesn't this feel too good to be true? this is awesome however!!!

[trustkill]

This sounds like a huge step in the right direction. I've heard talk about the formation of a fighter's union for months, and with Zuffa's acquisition of SF, the rumblings have been getting louder. True, this is a strategic decision by Zuffa to stuff any labor issues, but the coverage of training injuries is a big deal and I can't imagine too many promotions (if any) can offer that.

I give Zuffa props for the one thing they do best, quick adaptation of their business model. Look at how bad the idiots in the NFL have screwed up this issue. Zuffa was smart to put themselves in a favorable view by taking the initiative.