As one of the many solutions regarding the UFC fighters’ pay problem, fighters creating a union to take care of their needs has been proposed multiple times. Though many athletes under Dana White’s leadership wanted to form one, it fizzled out before it ever got off the ground. However, as the promotion underpaying their fighters has emerged once again, some believe the time has come for fighters to form a union. But a Super Bowl champion doubts its effect.

Ryan Clark, who won the Super Bowl playing with the Pittsburgh Steelers in February 2009, understands that fighters should expect transparency from the promotion. Still, looking at the nature of business in the sport, the former NFL player believes the fighters won’t actually benefit from unionizing, at least for now.

“I think you need transparency, but we also have to remember how young mixed martial arts is compared to the NFL,” Clark told MMA Junkie. “This has been an evolution in the NFL, and there are still different CBA negotiations and bouts that they deal with, whether it’s strikes or lockouts and all of those things. You know, you need to form a union, but in forming a union, who are you negotiating with? So many of these organizations are run by small groups of people that make every single decision.

And the difference is, in football, the Dallas Cowboys are given every opportunity to win the Super Bowl as much as the Cincinnati Bengals are. That’s not what mixed martial arts is. Mixed martial arts is truly you eat what you kill. And so, until they can find a way to bridge the gap between sort of ownership and labor, I don’t think there will be a change. I don’t believe there will be transparency because it’s such a small group of individuals who are policed in no way that are making the decisions,” he added.

For those unaware, unlike the UFC, major leagues like the NFL and NBA have their own athletes’ unions that represent their players’ rights and demands. That brings up a very obvious question: Why don’t fighters have a union? Well, at first thought, it might sound like a straightforward process where a bunch of fighters come together and form a union. But the actual method is much more complicated and lawfully prevents fighters from forming a union.

Prominent combat sports journalist John S. Nash actually went pretty deep into this subject on his Substack, where he talked with unionism expert Dr. James B. Dworkin. According to the expert, UFC fighters deal with top brass individually and not in the form of a team like in the NFL or NBA. In that case, they have never experienced such unity in the first place. Moreover, Dr. Dworkin also explained that UFC fighters being independent contractors and not employees cuts the chances of forming a union legally, as the National Labor Relations Board would reject the appeal.

Those who don’t know, top-level UFC fighters such as Georges St-Pierre, Cain Velasquez, and Donald Cerrone formed a union. However, before it started representing the fighters, it completely shut down. The reason? Well, there were many, but aside from management issues, they also faced legal difficulties, which ultimately caused the union to dwindle.

Now, in the present day, it’s become even tougher for the fighters, as Colby Covington pointed out, champions like Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev won’t likely join the movement, as he believes UFC is paying them well. However, even if the majority actually tries to form one or, in fact, tries to rebel against the UFC, Daniel Cormier believes it would turn out worse for them.

Daniel Cormier gives 80% UFC fighters a grim reality check

As fighters forming a union seems like a tough but still a stable solution, many believe that fighters outright getting into a proper rebellion is another way for the UFC to act on the fighters’ pay problem quickly. But as ambitious as this option appears, Daniel Cormier believes the promotion wouldn’t care much, as they wouldn’t think twice before replacing at least over 80% of their roster.

To back up his claim, the former two-division champion pointed out that the UFC only cares about their current elite superstars, such as Ilia Topuria, Alex Pereira, and Islam Makhachev, who bring value to the entire promotion. The rest? They can actually replace them in a heartbeat, as they would find other talents quickly.

“80%? You think there are 20% of fighters in the UFC that are irreplaceable,” Cormier said during the Funky and the Champ podcast. “There’s less than that. I believe when you talk about who’s irreplaceable, like who do you have to have. Dude, let me tell you how you know that, I think you have to have Ilia Topuria. I think you have to have Islam Makhachev. I think you have to have Alex Pereira,” he added.

Now, as bitter as it sounds, Cormier definitely has a point. If we look at this year, the UFC has rampantly cut fighters who aren’t bringing much to the promotion, and also axed a ranked UFC fighter Jailton Almeida. On the other hand, Alex Pereira got an 8-fight deal, which is estimated at around $10 million per fight.

That being said, do you think UFC fighters will eventually form a union in the future? Let us know in the comments section below.