Former UFC Bantamweight Champion T.J. Dillashaw recently let loose, giving his unfiltered opinion on the state of the UFC during an appearance on Team Alpha Male’s “Stud Show.” Dillashaw pointed to his belief that the UFC treats their fighters like employees, as opposed to what they actually are, which is independent contractors.
“They treat us like employees, but they don’t give us benefits like employees. It’s kind of crazy when you think about it. We have to tell them where we’re at at all times, so USADA can show up and drug test us. But we don’t get health benefits. It’s kind of crazy that we are controlled. Any time you have to tell work where you’re at and what you’re doing, that’s considered an employee, not a contractor. They can’t tell a subcontractor what to do and when to do it. So this whole drug-testing thing is kind of crazy and the way they’re making us wear Reebok and all this stuff we have to do. They’re treating us like employees, but not giving us the benefits of an employee.”
Dillashaw also spoke about being outright lied to regarding the sale of the UFC. As noted, Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta sold the company to WME | IMG for $4 billion.
“With UFC, we’ve pretty much stayed in the dark as much as possible. They’re telling us they’re not selling the company when everyone knows they’re selling it. It’s public record, but they’re still trying to tell us they weren’t. They’re just going to wait for the last minute for everything for us to find out.”
As far as what the future holds, Dillashaw predicted that if the fighters were to ever unionize, that will be the day UFC President Dana White, who will be staying with the company, will walk away from the sport.
“Dana and Lorenzo and those guys aren’t dumb. They’re probably going to jump ship before any kind of fighter union happens or any kind of lawsuits happen or anything like that.”
You can check out T.J. Dillashaw’s complete appearance on the “Stud Show” via the YouTube player embedded above.
