It seems that ever since the UFC started offering medical insurance to their entire roster, fight cancellations have increased tenfold. I read a piece after the Ryan Ford incident where Danny Downes was saying a lot of times fighters will just fight through injuries and then after the fight say they were injuring during the fight so the promoter has to foot the medical bill for their pre fight injuries. Since the UFC offers insurance now theres no need to do that.
I wonder if the UFC is now regretting offering insurance. I mean it's great for the fighters but it's gotta suck for them from a business perspective. For fans it kinda sucks to if we're going to be honest. What say you UG? Do you think the UFC wishes they never rolled out their insurance plan?
It's a valid question.
I've only been following mma since 2012 so Idk what it was like before but based on reading it seems like it certainly is true.
My question is if they get injured does the insurance pay for the income they lose from missing the fight? 
siebe41 - It's a valid question.
I've only been following mma since 2012 so Idk what it was like before but based on reading it seems like it certainly is true.
My question is if they get injured does the insurance pay for the income they lose from missing the fight?
No, but for a lot of guys your medical bills could easily be more than your fight purse if you don't have coverage.
When did I ever say fighters shouldn't have insurance? I said from the UFC's perspective it must suck because the injuring are killing their already watered-down cards. Big difference cowboy.
I guess the company you work for is regretting to have offered you medical insurance when they hired you. It must suck for them because they have to shell a lot of money for covering your medical expenses.
I recall that they announced their fighter insurance during a time in which talk of a fighters' union was at an all time high. The insurance put to bed a lot of those rumblings. It always seemed to me that, at least in part, the UFC set up the insurance to try to dissuade a fighters' union.
Kenso with the straw man argument, comparing a 9 to 5 desk job to fighting as if they're the same thing.
These are also saturation era injuries.
The injuries are more significant than they used to be, since cards are propped up mainly by 1-2 fights with name recognition. There are also less fighters with name recognition who can fill in when injuries happen, since most guys are booked up with this crazy schedule.
Having medical insurance legitimizes The UFC as a professional sport. Every professional sport in North America offers a medical benefits compensation package for injuries to their athletes. The UFC has even gone on to expand their benefits to cover pre exiting injuries and injuries occurring during training. However, I believe preventative surgeries are still not covered.
Regardless, with the expanded medical coverage for these fighters, the idea is to keep their fighters as healthy as possible, at all times. Ultimately limiting their time out of training and the cage.
kronnchi - Don't know about that for Cain, but there are training videos of him doing cheat reps of leg extensions at a heavy weight. This video was taken during the JDS fight camp but illustrates that he trains pretty recklessCheating on a leg extension isn't gonna blow out your knee lol
@Rhasaan, the whole point of the UFC's coverage was to cover injuries occurred during training. Injuries occurred during the event have always been covered by any organization licensed through a competent athletic commission.
As far as the theory goes about a healthy fighter equates to a more active fighter, I think that sounds good in theory until it's actually put into practice. Nowadays we're seeing guys that would've fought regardless of injury in the past and address the issue immediately after now opting to not fight and address the issue beforehand.
Just to say it one more time since I'm sure some people just can't read or comprehend what this thread is about, I'm NOT saying that insurance is a bad thing for the fighters at all. I'm saying that insurance has had a pretty big impact on how the UFC is able to keep their cards in tact.
it would be an interesting stat to find, but think it would be very difficult to go back and find data.
Add to that, training is continuously getting more difficult. Meaning fighters are putting themselves at a great risk as time goes on.
Think it would be difficult to pin point the results just on Insurance.
I also dont think fighters would use this as an excuse to get out of fights. That's were the money is going to be made.
grkblood -siebe41 - It's a valid question.
I've only been following mma since 2012 so Idk what it was like before but based on reading it seems like it certainly is true.
My question is if they get injured does the insurance pay for the income they lose from missing the fight?
No, but for a lot of guys your medical bills could easily be more than your fight purse if you don't have coverage.
I have no trouble believing that after seeing the bill for the surgeries I had on my knee.
Just saw another thread that was counting the number of main events that had to be scrapped or changed due to injuries.
List was:
Barao/Cruz
Weidman/Vitor x2 (may and july)
Weidman/Machida
Jds/Stipe
Barao/Dillashaw 2
Aldo/Mendes
Jones/Cormier
Jones/Gus
Miller/McGregor
Lil Nog/Gus (Though not sure if lil nog actually agreed)
That is just main events...not even counting the whole chael/wand/vitor fiasco along with many other higher profile fights.