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UFC president Dana White has left a rather vague reply to a fan question about UFC fighters receiving health benefits.
Dana White participated in an impromptu fan Q&A session with UFC analyst and on-air personality Karyn Bryant on Instagram. During the Q&A session, an Instagram user asked Dana White whether the UFC will offer their fighters full-time health benefits even after their careers are over.
Another notable point raised in the question was that the health benefits could help the UFC fighters deal with life-altering issues caused due to their fighting career. The question read as follows –
“Will the UFC ever offer their fighters full-time health benefits so they can have them after their careers are over and possibly deal with life-altering issues from fighting (?)”
Dana White responded to this with a subtle and concise answer that read as follows –
“Soon”.
Presently, the UFC offers health benefits to active members of its roster who are dealing with injury issues related to a fight or a training camp. In other words, if a fighter were to sustain an injury during a fight or get injured during a training camp, they will receive medical benefits from the UFC’s insurance policy.
Prior to 2011, the UFC didn’t offer health benefits to its fighters for injuries sustained during training camp. The health benefits before 2011 were limited to injuries sustained during a UFC fight. The UFC’s move to provide its athletes with health benefits to deal with injury issues during training camp has been viewed as a significant improvement since 2011.
One ought to note that no other MMA organization around the world provides its fighters full-time medical benefits. From a business perspective, an MMA fighter is generally deemed to be an independent contractor and not an employee of a given MMA organization. This, in turn, makes MMA organizations exempt from providing their fighters with full-time medical benefits.
Dana White’s assertion is being viewed as another positive development for UFC fighters, MMA, and combat sports as a whole
Earlier this year, speaking to MMA Fighting, BKFC (Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship) president David Feldman had announced that BKFC will be providing its fighters a pension plan from BKFC 17 (April 30th, 2021) onwards.
The bare-knuckle boxing organization had been praised for this development back in April, with many in the combat sports community calling for MMA organizations to follow suit and provide its athletes with pension plans.
On that note, Dana White’s latest statement, regarding full-time health benefits for the UFC’s athletes, is being viewed as another positive development not only for the UFC but for MMA and combat sports as a whole.
What are your views on Dana White’s statement? Sound off in the comments.
