UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor has agreed to address the United States Congress to assist a campaign looking to extend certain legal protections enjoyed by boxers to MMA fighters, according to Congressman Markwayne Mullin
Mullin, a former pro-MMA fighter with a 3-0 record, is pushing for a bill to be passed which would extend the “Ali Act” to MMA.
According to the congressman, UFC superstar Conor McGregor, who now has a pro boxing record (0-1) following his loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. last month, could help him with his campaign:
“We have been told by his team that he [Conor McGregor] was going to come to the (Capitol) Hill to talk about this,” Mullin told Reuters in an interview recently.
The Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act [2000] was passed to protect the rights of boxers and to help states regulate boxing. The Act offers a number of safeguards to boxers, including protection from “coercive contracts”, an independent ranking system and ensuring promoters cannot have a “direct or indirect financial interest” in the management of fighters.
Mullin is pushing for another hearing on the “Ali Extension Act” within the next two months. In terms of its extension to MMA, the de facto governing body and promoter, the UFC, is resisting the move. As the largest player in mixed martial arts promotion, the WME-IMG owned company would seriously be impacted by the act. McGregor, widely regarded as the face of the company, would find himself at serious risk of fracturing his relationship with the promotion should he assist Mullin in his push for the extension of the act.
The UFC’s chief operating officer Lawrence Epstein, who also spoke to Reuters, claimed that the company were “exceeding the requirements when it comes to health and safety and contracts”. This is widely disputed by many fighters who claim that, despite being treated as Independent contractors, are required to wear Reebok’s uniform apparel which restricts their ability to gain revenue from advertising.
What sets McGregor apart from other fighters is that the UFC system, one which appears to be less of a meritocracy at times when it comes to bagging title shots, worked favorably for him. “The Notorious” is far and away the most valuable fighter the UFC has today and has been afforded opportunities other fighters simply have not.
McGregor’s peerless self-promotional skills and ability to sell pay-per-views have earned him opportunities, such as an immediate title shot against former lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez and engaging in two welterweight bouts against Nate Diaz while being 145-pound champion. McGregor has also held up the lightweight division while he secured a money-spinning bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Epstein, who spoke out against Mullin’s push to introduce a “transparent ranking system” based upon independent rankings, could harm the UFC brand:
“We have been successful for one reason and one reason only – we put on the fights the fans want to see,” Epstein explained.
“That’s where we have a problem with what Congressman Mullin wants to do. (Former NFL quarterback) Peyton Manning could never have made it in the UFC, because he was a great athlete but he wasn’t a good self-promoter,” Mullin explained.
“We want to make it a professional sport where a guy who is not a loud-mouth can still climb the ranks and eventually have that title shot – right now, you can’t get a title shot unless you sell a lot of tickets.”
Should MMA’s biggest name in Conor McGregor assist Mullin in his campaign to seek a ‘better life’ for MMA fighters via the extension of the “Ali Act”, against the will of his promoters in the UFC, this will likely be the biggest surprise in the career of a man known for pulling off the unexpected.
