Thanks for speaking up Nate! More people need to.
The sad part in all this, is that fighters will not appreciate, or understand what Nate is saying right now. They will wait and see for themselves in a few years the reality of what fighting for a living does to a person. You assume that you put health at risk because the reward is so damn good. But when guys like Leben, who was a big star at one point, end up broke after fighting. What does that say about the little guy barely squeaking by financially. It's not a matter of these guys blowing up all their millions like they do in other sports, it's a matter of not ever having enough to live off after fighting.
Good stuff Nate. It is refreshing to hear the opinions of those other than Tito and Ken. While their feelings may be valid, they always seem to come from a selfish place, yours do not.
Hopefully your thoughts help lead the way for some changes for fighters. 
Drewout - Thanks for speaking up Nate! More people need to.This!
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It's funny, Lorenzo only issues statements when Dana is getting schooled and/or it's a negative issue. hahaha.
"Please don't tell your daddy on us BLAF"
Glad to hear one of these guys speak openly about this. I can't imagine how some of the lesser known or smaller draw fighters can manage a living with such low pay and so few fights per year. That's rough.
With fighters in general, they need to pull their heads out and look around them.
Fighting is an OPPORTUNITY not a career. Imagine having a shot to make 100 grand all at once! At the very least, you could put down a big chunk on a house. But guys don't think that far ahead. They think the money will always be there.
Fighters that end up broke, that's on them. Be smart with your money.
As my lawyer told me, "What don't you understand? Their job is to make money. Your job is to not be stupid."
I'm trying to break the cycle of ignorance.
Bunch of really good ideas!
Fucking brilliant!!
NATE: First, I love that you did that Comic book. You rock!! You still doing that?
Second: I agree with almost 100% of everything you posted. I speak to a few UFC fighters and I get the same thing from them, but they are current fighters or former fighters who want back and will not open their mouths at all.
It HAS to change.
great post
Subbing this shit
TTT
This man deserves to be next to chael instead of Dom Cruz, rashad, or DC. Nate is great on tv and very intelligent. He is also 100% right, especially about the cut rule. 4 fights to show you belong, no less. It helps the ufc too because they can build stars.
There seems to be two major issues:
1. The UFC is having lackluster cards full of decisions. Its going to hurt their business if they can't get exciting fights with finishes.
2. The fighters have little stability in their employment. They are scared to take chances because if they lose they may get cut.
I think a 3 fight/50k guarantee annually would be a good starting point. This is the pay win or lose. This would relieve a lot of anxiety for fighters.
Bonuses should be paid for finishes. This is what fans want to see. The stability and financial incentive will help lead to more finished/exciting fights.
You don't finish, you get the guaranteed $. They still have a chance at performance or fight of the night. They still have stability and bonus incentive if they do go to a decision. They'll at least try to make it exciting.
I think if they moved to annual guaranteed contracts with finishing and performance bonuses a lot of problems for both sides will disappear.
The problem is with an attitude like Dana has things are not likely to change. His response to taking money away from fighters in terms of sponsorship made me want to come through the screen and smack him. "It's not my fu**ing problem!" That was his response. His fighters can fight on the biggest stage and he can take in millions from it but the guy in the main event qualifies for food stamps!? That is his problem because it reflects poorly on the UFC brand.
Sorry Nate. I watched TUF because you stayed even after you couldn't fight. As much as I love Rich I was pulling for you to win that title. You have always been a stand up guy and are certainly handling this much better than I would. It is disgusting that he can pay a waiter, have snow delivered for fun, or pay out stupid bets with his friends above and beyond what he pays a fighter making him that money. Sure, not everyone can be a GSP or Anderson but when you fight on the biggest stage of all MMA you deserve more than a poverty wage. It's wrong plain and simple.
All they will do is make excuses and rationalize thier current position. The UFC is a meat grinder, they aren't ever going to change under these owners.
Nate 'Rock' Quarry - There have been a lot of people commenting on my statements, but I'm posting this just to make myself heard.Do you think a fighters union would help or hinder the progression of the sport?
I'm not a complainer. I'm someone who tries to fix things.
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