Count former UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey among the high-profile supporters of a new bill to create a pension fund for MMA fighters in California.
” I felt almost shocked and encouraged. [that] Anyone is still thinking about the fighters even after they stop fighting,” Rousey said to ESPN.com. “I just kind of thought that nobody cares ever, that they only want to see us punch each other and it’s really cool and then they forget about us and don’t ever think about us for a second after that.”
The new bill, introduced to the California legislature on Feb. 15 by California State Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco), proposes to establish an MMA pension fund using revenue from a tax on MMA event tickets and concessions as well as personal contributions. California State Athletic Commission will manage the fund. They will put the money into an investment account, and then distribute the funds to the fighters who have fought a specific number of rounds within the state.
California boxers are unique in combat sports to benefit from a pension fund, which was established in 1982. They are eligible to receive benefits after they turn 50 and have completed 75 rounds. The same age requirement would apply for MMA fighters, but CSAC Executive Director Andy Foster wants them to be eligible when they’ve completed around 13 fights, or between 36 and 39 rounds. The number of rounds in a fight is still credited to the fighter. )
Rousey’s mom, AnnMaria De Mars, is a commissioner with the California State Athletic Commission. De Mars was a judo instructor who showed Rousey many moves. She also served as a member of a subcommittee that was formed this summer in order to include MMA fighters into the pension. Nick Diaz and Nate Diaz were suggested by De Mars, who trained with Rousey.
In 2012,, then-Strikeforce champ Rousey spoke out against a bill which, among others, added MMA fighters in California’s pension for retired boxers. She specifically took aim at regulations designed to eliminate coercive contracts and increase financial transparency for promoters.
” I don’t think there’s any problem. But even the bill, even if it does have a problem, this bill doesn’t help to solve it.” she stated.
More than a decade after that appearance, the now-retired Rousey praised the new bill.
“This was the first time that I felt like anyone actually thought about fighters and cared about them, rather than just about fighting. Rousey spoke to ESPN.com. And if it doesn’t, I will be very disappointed.
“I can’t think of a single reason why all of these fighters who are literally fighting their hearts out and putting their lives on the line to entertain people haven’t had this support already. And I’m really keeping my fingers crossed — if I could cross them, because they’re so damaged from fighting — that this will pass.”
Haney said to MMA Fighting that the bill would first be assigned within the house to a committee which will then review it, most likely in March. He expects fighters and former fighters to testify in its favor before it receives a vote by the house; a similar process will take place in the senate. The bill will be sent to the governor for signing if it is approved by the two-thirds vote of both the house and the senate. Haney expects both houses to pass the bill and hopes it will be law by September.
” There’s no cost for the state,” stated Haney. Haney is a MMA enthusiast who recalled renting early UFCs from Blockbuster on VHS. “We’ve worked out the issues before introduction with the promoters, who are supportive. I think that making sure that it has adequate revenue and that we bring in other opportunities for revenue will be critical.”
Haney said the UFC and Bellator are “not in opposition” to the bill and suggested the promotions consider regular contributions to the fund to potentially expand its reach to fighters who retired before it was implemented. At the time of publication, representatives for each promotion did not comment on Haney’s comments. )
“I think it’s not fair that they don’t have access to this, but we also have to deal with the reality that we don’t have funds in it yet,” Haney said. We’re talking to building the fund in the coming decades, and then having enough money to support every fighter as they retire.
” I would like to see it open up opportunities for both current and retired fighters to take advantage of the benefits. … I think it would only be fair to see direct contributions from the larger promoters and even building contributions to the fund into fight contracts.”
For now, the plan is to set aside $1 from every MMA ticket sold for the pension fund. CSAC’s Foster told ESPN the average distribution to an eligible boxer is $19,000; he expects to raise the per-ticket tax to $1 for boxing events.
In a sport that has almost no safety net, Rousey stated that time is crucial for a MMA pension fund.
“You have a much shorter window [in MMA] because your body takes so much more of a heavier toll,” Rousey told ESPN.com. “And the difference with these kind of combat sports, with all this contact and the neurological injuries involved, you don’t know the day that you’ve taken one hit too many. When you stop earning that additional income , you’ll find that your threshold has been crossed many decades later.
Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2023/2/24/23612513/ronda-rousey-supports-california-mma-pension-fund-if-this-doesnt-pass-ill-be-extremely-disappointed?rand=96749
