Proposed MMA State Pension Fund Gets Support from Former Fighters

A bill to create a mixed martial arts retirement fund for California MMA athletes received support from numerous former MMA athletes on Thursday after it was published last week.

Assembly Bill 1136, sponsored by Assemblyman Matt Haney (D-San Francisco), specifically provides for the creation of a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) Pension Fund under the California State Athletic Commission. The bill would allow the pension plan to generate income from ticket contributions, income from the sale of sports merchandise and souvenirs, and contributions from martial artists, managers, promoters, or any one or more of these individuals. As a result, those who retire from sports or need early retirement for education, training or medical treatment will receive funding.

AB 1136 makes it clear that no funds received will go to the State General Fund, and all MMA Pension Fund money will be invested. The bill would also limit the Pension Fund’s income to fighters over the age of 50 or those who have fought 14 or more fights in California.

Assemblyman Haney wrote AB 1136 due to MMA fighters currently having no source of retirement income or post-fight benefits. Fighters only last ten years on average, with only about 20 fights under their belt due to the brutal nature of the sport that limits fighting, and early financial assistance is often required to ensure recovery to help pay for the problems caused by fighting earlier in the career.

While leagues like Major League Baseball (MLB) and the National Football League (NFL) have retirement plans, most non-team, individual sports do not. However, there is a Boxer Pension Fund in California that provides assistance with this in boxing. Haney used the Boxing Retirement Fund as a template for his proposed MMA Retirement Fund.

“This pension fund is the right decision. This allows these athletes to save money for retirement and creates a financial safety net to pay medical bills,” Haney said last week. “This is the first event of its kind in the world of MMA and is an important step to support these athletes who make MMA one of the fastest growing sports in the world.”

AB 1136 quickly garnered support from Californian MMA fighters after the bill was introduced last week. Among the first former fighters to speak out in support of the bill was former UFC fighter Ronda Rousey, who noted that health issues largely do not become more apparent until decades later, fighters retire from the sport and have work to help. pay for treatment.

AB 1136 enlists the support of MMA fighters

“Your body doesn’t forget. And many times you don’t realize you’ve taken too many hits until decades later,” Rousey said Thursday in an interview. statement of support. “Everyone loves you when you fight in the octagon, but will any of these people be by your side when you are over ninety and you pay for it?

“I was really almost shocked and encouraged by humanity that someone even thinks about fighters after they don’t fight anymore. I just thought that nobody cares, that they just want to see us hitting each other, which is really cool, and then they forget about us and don’t even think about us for a second after that.

“This is the first time I really felt that someone actually thinks about the fighters themselves and not just about the fight and really cares about people and not thinking about us as a product. And if it doesn’t work, I’ll be extremely disappointed.

“I can’t think of a single reason why all these fighters who are literally fighting for their hearts and risking their lives to entertain people haven’t received this kind of support yet. And I really keep my fingers crossed – if I could cross them, because they are so damaged from the fight – that this will pass.

As of Thursday, no major opposition has spoken out against the bill. However, this is likely to change due to the fact that MMA, as well as many promoters in the past, have spent tens of millions to protect the league and its operation.

“It will be difficult for many to justify voting against the bill,” Hunter Corwin, legal counsel for athletes and sports teams, explained in an interview with the Globe on Thursday. “If it came straight from the General Fund, or through the general tax, a lot of people would be outraged by it. Instead, the burden of funding falls on the sport and those who organize these fights. Some taxpayers pay for it, but only those who buy goods or go to fights.”

“What you are going to see are supporters who are saying that new, higher taxes will force people to withdraw their support and result in fewer events happening in California. They are also concerned that this Foundation idea will spread to other places, especially Nevada, where the lion’s share of the fighting takes place. But the boxing fund didn’t really go outside of California, so the MMA fund could also have been stopped early.”

“However, both sides want to first see if it works financially. It is very important”.

AB 1136 is expected to be heard by Assembly committees next month.

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