Mixed martial arts superstar Georges St-Pierre and a handful of current UFC stars are set to make an “industry re-defining” announcement this week.
St-Pierre, along with former UFC champions Cain Velasquez and TJ Dillashaw, fan favourites Tim Kennedy and Donald Cerrone, plus former Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney, will make the announcement on a conference call Wednesday, according to a press release that was sent out Monday.
Details on what the announcement could be are thin, however everyone mentioned above has expressed their support for a fighters’ union at one point or another.
“[The UFC] treat us like employees, but they don’t give us benefits like employees. It’s kind of crazy when you think about it,” Dillashaw told MMAFighting back in July. “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.”
Cerrone and Kennedy, who are both scheduled to fight at next month’s UFC 206 in Toronto, have also been vocal in recent months when speaking of the formation of a union.
“It’s just something that needs to be done, and I feel like we need a face to do it so it’s [expletive] time,” Cerrone said. “We gotta do something. I think a lot of fighters are involved, man. It’s gonna be a revolution.”
