Professional Fighters Association set up targeting UFC

The Professional Fighters Association (PFA) has officially launched this week with the union specifically targeting UFC athletes for representation.

The PFA is led by famed baseball agent Jeff Borris along with attorney Lucas Middlebrook, unhealthy who came to prominence in the MMA world last year when he defended Nick Diaz in his appeal hearing with the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

The new group also includes Callie Mendenhall, who is the administrator for the NBA referees union, along with noted economist Andrew Zimbalist.

In a release sent out on Thursday, the PFA took specific aim at the athletes fighting in the UFC as a group they hope to organize and add to the union for collective bargaining, among other issues.

A statement sent to media read: “Historically, owners have taken advantage of the athletes until they created a unified association to combat the owners’ greedy ways. Professional sports history shows how the formation of an association to collectively bargain employment terms has dramatically increased the compensation and working conditions of an organized membership. These associations have helped players financially and given them control over their careers and their life after they finish competing. The MMA business is a billion dollar industry where all fighters, even the ones at the top, receive only a fraction of what they deserve,” 

“This will continue unchecked until there is a unified front on the part of the fighters in order to level the playing field and stop those at the top from taking advantage of the fighters in the Octagon. Remember — the fighters generate the revenue.”