Matt Lindland Claims That UFC Contracts Are Illegal

[snakerattle79]

MMANEWS.COM | Matt Lindland Claims That UFC Contracts Are Illegal


Republican House of Representatives candidate and - of course - highly respected middleweight Matt Lindland believes there is something very wrong with the contracts from MMA’s top organization.

The UFC contracts are illegal. Based on the Muhammad Ali (Safety) Act, you cannot be the promoter and the manager at the same time,” Lindland said, “If they are telling you who and when you are going to fight, they are the manager as well as the promoter.”

I am definitely not a lawyer so it is hard to fully judge the validity of the statement, but in reading the Act, Lindland does make a few good points on how much control an organization can have over a fighter.

Lindland also said that one fighter in particular is planning to test the Act in court.

I believe that is what Randy (Couture) is saying as well.”

[Tant01]

Interesting... Keep us updated?

[chillaplata]

Interesting. One immediate hurdle Matt and Randy will have to overcome is that the Muhammad Ali Safety Act, and the earlier Professional Boxing Safety Act that it amended, appear by their terms to apply only to "boxing". Unless there is some legal authority applying the Professional Boxing Safety Act to mixed martial arts -- and maybe there is, I haven't checked -- none of the provisions of the Act would apply to the UFC. Thus no contract between the UFC and an MMA fighter could be held to violate the Act even if the Act would clearly prohibit an identical contract between, say, Don King and a professional boxer.

It is possible that laws or regulations of states sanctioning MMA bouts, such as Nevada or California, apply the provisions of the Professional Boxing Safety Act to MMA bouts in those states. If that is the case, then Matt and Randy may be able to enforce the restrictions of the Act against the UFC in the relevant states.

For those who care, the text of the Muhammad Ali Safety Act can be found at the following link (you can get there by clicking through a few links from the originally posted link)
Muhammad Ali Safety Act

The complete text of the Professional Boxing Safety Act (15 U.S.C. Section 6301 et seq.), which incorporates the Muhammad Ali Safety Act, can be found here:
US CODE--TITLE 15--COMMERCE AND TRADE

[aseepish]

Interesting indeed!

I think they would have to convince the court that in MMA the same sort of "disreputable and coercive business practices" go on as in boxing, and thus MMA fighters need the kind of protection the Muhammad Ali Safety Act was designed to provide.

Thanks for the links!