“I wasn’t happy with that contract then,” Couture said. “I asked for a signing bonus. I knew a lot of other athletes were getting signing bonuses. I was told, ‘No, we can’t give you a signing bonus.’ But it really didn’t matter. What I ultimately wanted to do was fight, so I accepted the contract.”
UFC president Dana White contends Couture “belongs” to him until he fulfills the final two fights of the agreement, the 18-month term notwithstanding. Couture believes he will be a free agent when the term expires in nine months; the disagreement may land the two parties in court.
“They can’t make me fight,” Couture said. “My understanding is that, with the term of the contract and the number of bouts on the contract, one isn’t contingent on the other. Once the term expires, it doesn’t automatically extend until I compete in the four bouts that were on the contract.”
Couture also disputed a recent Yahoo! Sports report that his current deal would pay him between $13 million and $15 million. He presented the media with unsigned bout agreements for his last two fights – his March 3 victory over Sylvia and his Aug. 25 win over Gabriel Gonzaga.
A base salary of $250,000 was reflected in both agreements, which included a pay-per-view compensation scale that increased by the number of units sold. Couture estimated buys between 500,000 and 600,000 for his last three appearances. He also confirmed to The Fight Network that he received a $500,000 bonus from Zuffa for the unanimous decision victory to Sylvia. Couture said he received no such bonus for the successful title defense against Gonzaga, which he addressed face-to-face with Fertitta and White.
In late August, Couture exercised a clause in his contract to audit Zuffa for the Gonzaga pay-per-view numbers. With official tallies for that bout still pending, Couture's estimations applied to the pay-per-view tiers provided place him in the $1.6 to $1.8 million dollar range per fight - still a far cry from the $3.25-$3.75 million that had been reported.
UFC president Dana White contends Couture “belongs” to him until he fulfills the final two fights of the agreement, the 18-month term notwithstanding. Couture believes he will be a free agent when the term expires in nine months; the disagreement may land the two parties in court.
“They can’t make me fight,” Couture said. “My understanding is that, with the term of the contract and the number of bouts on the contract, one isn’t contingent on the other. Once the term expires, it doesn’t automatically extend until I compete in the four bouts that were on the contract.”
Couture also disputed a recent Yahoo! Sports report that his current deal would pay him between $13 million and $15 million. He presented the media with unsigned bout agreements for his last two fights – his March 3 victory over Sylvia and his Aug. 25 win over Gabriel Gonzaga.
A base salary of $250,000 was reflected in both agreements, which included a pay-per-view compensation scale that increased by the number of units sold. Couture estimated buys between 500,000 and 600,000 for his last three appearances. He also confirmed to The Fight Network that he received a $500,000 bonus from Zuffa for the unanimous decision victory to Sylvia. Couture said he received no such bonus for the successful title defense against Gonzaga, which he addressed face-to-face with Fertitta and White.
In late August, Couture exercised a clause in his contract to audit Zuffa for the Gonzaga pay-per-view numbers. With official tallies for that bout still pending, Couture's estimations applied to the pay-per-view tiers provided place him in the $1.6 to $1.8 million dollar range per fight - still a far cry from the $3.25-$3.75 million that had been reported.
“Everybody’s trying to make a big deal about the money,” Couture said. “This was never a money issue. It’s been a prevailing feeling of respect that wasn’t being given. Eleven years of my life I’ve spent trying to represent this sport with integrity and represent this sport in a particular way for the owners before and now. I’ve never felt like that was appreciated.”
Couture also cited issues involving failed attempts to secure extra tickets for friends and family and a lack of support from UFC management in regards to a GI fundraiser he organized in Las Vegas last June.“All of those things are small mitigating factors into this overall feeling that I’m just another fighter and I get no respect from the organization,” Couture said. “I’m tired of swimming upstream. I’m tired of fighting against the current. Something needs to change.”
The full article is available from the Fight network.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.