MMA fighter-turned-senator Markwayne Mullin reportedly set to reintroduce the Ali Expansion Act

MMA fighter-turned-senator Markwayne Mullin is reportedly set to reintroduce the landmark Ali Expansion Act. Former UFC fighter and The Ultimate Fighter contestant Nate Quarry confirmed the news in a recent tweet.

Markwayne Mullin is a former undefeated mixed martial artist who competed in the Xtreme Fighting League. He was elected to the US Senate in 2022. The 45-year-old is the first Native American senator to be elected in nearly two decades.

The Ali Expansion Act was initially introduced by Mullin in 2017. The act essentially broadens the scope of the Muhammad Ali Reform Act, which came into effect in 2000.

The original Ali Reform Act was enforced to serve the interests of boxers and to ensure fair practice on the side of promoters.

Since the boxing scene in the 1990s lacked any proper regulatory commissions or leagues, the act was aimed at addressing issues like contact lengths, and transparency in payments, proper ranking systems, and the like.

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If the Ali Expansion Act is enacted in MMA, all the benefits of the landmark boxing act will also be applicable to MMA athletes.

If Mullin succeeds in reintroducing the legal framework, promotions like the UFC and Bellator will have to disclose details regarding fighter payments after each event and will not be able to coerce unfair contract details on athletes.

Many large MMA promotions are often accused of making many backhand deals with certain gyms to promote their fighters. With the enforcement of the Ali Expansion Act, such practices would be liable to strict legal pushback.

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When veteran MMA Journalist Ariel Helwani spoke out against 'unfair' UFC contract systems

UFC contracts have been deemed to be "anti-fighter" by many in the industry. Even current UFC heavyweight kingpin Francis Ngannou is undergoing contract negotiations to make it more flexible.

Earlier this year, MMA legend Nate Diaz also spoke out about his frustration with the promotion neither providing him with a fight nor releasing him from his contract.

In an early 2022 episode of The MMA Hour, Ariel Helwani spoke out against the unfair nature of UFC contracts while addressing Diaz's issue with the UFC, saying:

"Let me ask you guys this - in this world where you can get cut after signing a six-fight deal after the first fight... In a world where there's no revenue sharing, where there's no collective bargaining... In that world, why is it that there's a guy who's getting a little up there in age, who says, 'I want to fight,' and they don't get to honor that?"

Helwani added:

"If we don't talk about these things, we don't bring up these injustices, and these conflicts of interest, and the way this whole system and whole sport is built and structured to be anti-fighter, to leave them with nothing at the very end, to leave them powerless, to leave them with no actual bargaining power, leverage, all that... If you don't care about that stuff, I wonder and I question if you really love the sport."

Watch Ariel Helwani's rant below: