ESPN's Coverage Of The UFC Deserves Ongoing Scrutiny
Or Man, You Don't Get To Pick And Chose When To Be A Journalist
Welcome to the latest C’mon Now, a newsletter focused on mixed martial arts. This is the place where I’ll share my thoughts on all the goings-on in MMA. Those thoughts could range from media criticism to advice for folks looking to get into MMA writing to why certain fighters or managers are not good for the sport.
In this edition I take a look at where ESPN recently fell short of covering its partner — the UFC.
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In a recent sit-down with ESPN, UFC president Dana White continued to act as if MMA fans and MMA media members have no clue what UFC fighters earn (ESPN in bold).
Fighter pay is always a topic. I think it probably always will be. It is in every business.
As the sport continues to go [up], so do the numbers. Ask some of these world champions the difference in the last year, and they'll feel it.
Can you give an idea of what a star in the UFC is capable of making these days?
It's crazy money. I think a lot of people would be shocked if you heard what some of these big stars are making. But I don't ever talk about that.
See what White does there? He gives us the ol' "It's crazy money," line before refusing to mention even a range of how crazy that money might be. However, thanks to the unsealed documents that were released during the antitrust suit against the promotion, we do know those numbers. And folks, they are not earth-shattering.
ESPN's Brett Okamoto should have this information and he could have (and should have) pushed White on the subject, but he did not. Instead, Okamoto gave White a gentle shove on the shoulder and moved on. I want to say this was a surprise, but it wasn't. Like many MMA websites*, the only coverage ESPN has seemed to give the ongoing antitrust lawsuit came in 2014 when the lawsuit was first announced. With ESPN being the UFC's broadcast partner, don't expect the network's MMA team to cover that lawsuit.
That team includes Ariel Helwani, who has won "MMA Journalist of the Year" for the past nine years at the World MMA Awards. If any coverage of the antitrust suit or low fighter pay gets reported, that information will come from the ESPN investigative team. With that being said, don't count on that happening either as ESPN has a history of removing itself from controversial coverage of its partners.
As the UFC and ESPN enter the second year of a seven-year deal, ESPN's coverage of the UFC needs to be scrutinized, especially when it overlooks as something as significant as the ongoing antitrust lawsuit.
*Bloody Elbow, MMAPayout, Forbes and The Athletic had writers cover the antitrust lawsuit from Las Vegas. Other sites like MMA Fighting, MMA Junkie, The Body Lock and Sherdog also covered the lawsuit in some form.
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