MMA Roundup: Zuffa Expands Fighter Insurance, Lesnar

Even though this is a pretty slow month for major MMA events, it’s been a big few days in terms of MMA news. We caught wind of a major change for fighters under the Zuffa umbrella, as well as bad news in the form of Brock Lesnar once again facing the illness that previously threatened his career and even his life. To get my thoughts on those news items and more, read on for this edition of the MMA Roundup.

Zuffa expands insurance for fighters to cover training injuries

In what was great news for both UFC and Strikeforce fighters, Zuffa proudly announced this week that they had greatly expanded their existing health insurance coverage for fighters. Previously, fighters were covered for injuries sustained in UFC fights for up to $100,000 per event they took part in. Now, they retain that coverage and also have $50,000 worth of coverage when they are training for fights.

This is a big step in the right direction, as we have seen especially in recent times that nearly as many injuries seem to happen while fighters are training for bouts as compared to when they are actually competing in them. With fighters such as BJ Penn, Jon Fitch, and most recently the duo of Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard dropping out of scheduled bouts due to injuries sustained in training, it’s clear that training is just about as dangerous as fighting is.

Plus, since fighters are only paid when they actually compete, it’s good to know that while fighters who get injured in training will be missing out on a needed payday, they at least won’t be responsible for their own medical bills while they’re at it.

Many have expressed concern that with Zuffa owning both the UFC and Strikeforce (and without any serious competitors in sight), fighters will suffer as Zuffa will not have to actually “play ball” in terms of offering fighters fair wages and benefits, especially in the cases of lower-level competitors. While it’s still true that Zuffa is just about the only game in town, so to speak, this is definitely a show of good faith that they intend to do the right thing even if there is no competitor forcing them to do so.

Lesnar is sick again; pulls out of dos Santos fight

Bad news for Brock Lesnar and his fans came out recently, as Lesnar is entrenched in another battle with diverticulitis, the condition that cost him a year of his career and was nearly life-threatening the last time around. Just yesterday, Dana White announced in an impromptu conference call with the media that Lesnar was sick again, stating that Shane Carwin would take Lesnar’s place against dos Santos. Carwin was previously slotted to fight Jon Olav Einemo that night.

Lesnar said that at this point, they’re “waiting on a number of tests to come back”, and the main decision for him will be whether or not to opt for surgery that could fix the issue by removing a section of his colon. “I am forced with the decision to either have surgery, or to deal with this for the rest of my life,” Lesnar said on Thursday. He said that the condition isn’t as severe this time around, but still was a big enough bump in the road to keep him from being ready for his June 11th bout with dos Santos.

“Diverticulitis is an illness that never goes away,” Lesnar said during a Thursday media conference call. “It’s something that I’ve dealt with since my first occurrence and have been battling with it. It’s something that’s in your colon for the rest of your life. What it does is, it drains my entire body down. Basically, you’ve got an infection in your stomach and all my resources went toward fighting this problem instead of rebuilding what I tore down in the gym.”

Hopefully, Lesnar can once again overcome this challenge and come back to compete again. I was actually looking forward to the dos Santos fight, and no matter your personal feelings towards any particular fighter, it’s always a shame when medical problems keep us from getting to see what someone is truly capable of in their athletic career. I think both Lesnar’s fans and detractors alike would have liked to see how he would bounce back from his loss to Cain Velasquez. Here’s hoping that Lesnar can not only compete again, but take care of this problem once and for all and lead a healthy life.

Judges will finally get a better view at UFC 131

In a move that is long overdue, the playing field between the fans at home and the judges at cageside will be leveled a bit at UFC 131, as judges will have monitors at the event to help them follow the fights more closely. The main event of that fight, which is now Shane Carwin against Junior dos Santos, is about as likely to go to decision as I am likely to go in the cage that night and fight Jon Olav Einemo, but it’s nice to know that for the other bouts, the judges will always be able to clearly see what’s going on.

One thing that we have always heard as a sort of catch-all, devil’s advocate response to poor decisions in mixed martial arts is that “the judges don’t have the benefit of monitors”. Well, why not? Exactly what problem is brought about by making sure that the judges’ views are never obstructed by the referee, a cameraman, or the placement of the fighters themselves? I’m sure the (antiquated) thinking is something along the lines of “this way, each judge gets a different angle to make sure that collectively, they see everything” or “judges should judge the fights with their own eyes”, but those arguments are just plain stupid. All three judges should see the same thing, so that they’re all scoring the same thing.

Best of all, this means that when the media calls out one of these guys for the next inevitable scoring atrocity, they can’t come back with the old and tired “we can’t always see everything like you do at home on TV” line. If we can’t improve the judging, let’s at least remove all of the excuses so that we can finally hold these men and women truly accountable when they screw it up.

Sherdog.com, which reported the story originally, also stated that the UFC is trying to get monitors for judges approved by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for UFC 130 in just a couple of weeks. That matter is still pending. Again, why wouldn’t you allow it, though? If it’s not allowed, we have yet more proof that major athletic commissions, like all bureaucracies, are at best, slothlike organizations that resist change for no good reason whatsoever, and at worst, a total farce. Give us half-point scoring and knees to the head on the ground while you’re at it, will ya?

Lindland and Hendo to battle…in court

Sometimes, great teams lose their luster because the legends that were once on the roster move on to start their own gyms, as was the case with Team Miletich. Other times, everyone slowly jumps ship due to turmoil behind the scenes, as with Chute Boxe. Then, there’s Team Quest.

It’s sad that of the great teams from years ago, including the three mentioned above and Brazilian Top Team, only BTT is still a high-profile camp. What’s going on in Team Quest is particularly disappointing, as two of the longest-tenured members of the team are now suing one another for the licensing rights to the name and logo of Team Quest itself.

Dan Henderson had previously sued for the rights of using the Team Quest logo and name, saying that he had first used it in 1999, when he and Randy Couture first had the logo designed. Matt Lindland has countersued, saying that he was the first to actually have the name or logo trademarked, so it belongs to him.

There’s a lot of legal mumbo jumbo that you can check out in Sherdog’s excellent article on the subject if you wish, but the bottom line is that it’s another depressing event for fans of the gyms that ruled MMA back in the pre-”The Ultimate Fighter” days.

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Tags: Brock Lesnar, Dan Henderson, Dana White, horrible judging, Jon Olav Einemo, Junior Dos Santos, Matt Lindland, Shane Carwin, Strikeforce, UFC, Zuffa