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Will Eddie Alvarez risk losing his court case by going after Bellator publicly?
By Zach Arnold | May 4, 2013
There’s always two sides to every story. On one hand, Eddie Alvarez’s campaign against Bellator basically puts Bellator in a no-win position. If they win their court case, it’s a pyrrhic victory because other fighters will be scared away from signing with the promotion. On the other hand, Bellator has Viacom’s bankroll to put Eddie’s MMA career in jeopardy by dragging out the legal battle for as long as possible.
Eddie Alvarez Plans to Take Bellator to Court, Fight For Cash in Illegal, Underground Miami Bouts [LIKE A BOSS] ow.ly/kGAnq
— CagePotato.com (@cagepotatomma) May 3, 2013
Eddie Alvarez is clowning Bellator. Even if they win in court and keep him under contract, they still lose. They look so bad now.
— Luca Fury (@GamblingFury) May 4, 2013
Bellator was stupid to try to battle Eddie Alvarez.They can win and lose at the same time
— Jason Coles (@MMASun) May 4, 2013
I don’t see how this Eddie Alvarez twitter rant ends well.Sure he owns #Bellator on twitter, but it may own him in court. #MMA
— Jason Cruz (@dilletaunt) May 4, 2013
The “no settlement” litigation strategy was likely not cleared by Eddie Alvarez’s lawyers. No one wants to or should go to trial on this.
— Jason Cruz (@dilletaunt) May 4, 2013
Eddie Alvarez on #MMA Hour?I guess if you want to hurt you career, you see Ariel. Not a good idea especially during a lawsuit.
— Jason Cruz (@dilletaunt) May 4, 2013
Here is what Eddie Alvarez said on Twitter regarding what he will say publicly about his court case in the near future:
This is alot less about Bjorn guys and slot more about Viacom, I spoke with the hire UPS and explained myself,basically was told Too Bad.
— Edward Alvarez (@Ealvarezfight) May 3, 2013
Bjorn only owns very little and IM really not sure he has a say at all, I went over his head and spoke with his bosses, And here We Are!
— Edward Alvarez (@Ealvarezfight) May 3, 2013
I am fortunate compared to guys like @cosmoalexandre this guy trains day and night to feed his Fam N Viacom/ spike continue to hurt him
— Edward Alvarez (@Ealvarezfight) May 4, 2013
Not to mentioning how @zachfunsize WAs bullied to take a smaller pay day than contextually agreed or just sit.after being champ
— Edward Alvarez (@Ealvarezfight) May 4, 2013
I’ll be on Ariels show on Monday 2 tell the truth , Not to be politically correct.
— Edward Alvarez (@Ealvarezfight) May 4, 2013
Bjorns a Grunt in this . It’s Viacom and Spike and a group of idiots a money who don’t know shit about Mma
— Edward Alvarez (@Ealvarezfight) May 4, 2013
@cle_assassin @talkmma did u eer have an oppto make a million dollars stolen from you ?????if ur about money then u should understand me
— Edward Alvarez (@Ealvarezfight) May 4, 2013
Topics: Bellator, Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 26 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
The sh!t Bellator does to it’s fighters is insane. This is a no win situation for Bellator. They have already cut their own balls off by doing this. Fighters are scared to sign with them.
The worst thing Bellator does is release fighters, and then when another organization shows interest in them, they resort back to the contract and place a claim on that fighter. It is a horrible way to do business and pure slime.
Look at the last few seasons…. We are getting Russians & WEC Rejects winning the majority of the tournaments. All of the major MMA Teams are keeping their good prospects away from Bellator. And why not? Between WSOF and the various organizations that are on AXS TV, there are enough TV spots to go around for strong prospects to get exposure…. And then lead to a much easier road to the UFC.
Notice how Chris Lozano is the only one defending Bellator…. And he fights for Bellator. Not much of a shock. And telling Alvarez to fight while going through this is about the worst advice to give. I am not saying Alvarez will win (I am not a lawyer), but he should not start the new contract with anybody until this gets figured out.
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Everybody knows why Bellator and Viacom are doing this. They do not want to spend millions of dollars on MMA, only to make it a feeder system to the UFC. That is understandable. But then at least pay the fighters as much as the UFC will when you say you will match them. DFW often talks out of both sides of his #ss…. But in this situation he is right…. This is a Billion Dollar Company is it not paying a fighter what he is supposed to be getting.
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Anybody remember when Eddie Alvarez signed with Bellator? He was so proud of himself. He was bragging on how much money he was making and how smart he was for getting a good money deal compared to UFC Fighters.
He sort of looks like a fool now. For all the wisdom he thinks he has, he really is just a d#mb fighter who signed with an unproven company to a restrictive contract with bad people behind it. It is one thing to sign a restrictive contract with the UFC. They pay the most money, so where else are you going to go? Plus they don’t release fighters and then hold them up when they try to sign elsewhere. Signing a restrictive contract with a smaller organization causes problems like this…. Alvarez is not smart….
Alvarez only had to wait 9 months and he would’ve been free to sign with whoever he wanted that’s far from restrictive. He chose to take an UFC from the UFC during the 6-month matching period and Bellator matched it. He signed a contract that he would stay with Bellator if they matched any deal and now he doesn’t want to own up to it plain and simple. He will fight again for Bellator or sit out 2-3 years of his prime to a court battle he will lose.
Except he doesn’t think they matched it. And when the numbers work themselves out…. On a monetary basis, the UFC deal was for much more money. His PPV Share for the Jones/Sonnen PPV would have been much more then anything he would have gotten from Bellator. Hence why they are in court.
Alvarez’s problem is that he thought he signed the contract with decent people who would see when a match really is a match. Alvarez never had a problem fighting for Bellator again…. As long as they matched the money to be about equal. They have never done that. Hence why it is going to court.
Pat Curran just re-signed with Bellator and those “Russians” are excellent fighters. They will still sign more great talent to your dismay because is a good talent scout.
Alvarez is losing his mind on twitter because he knows it’s over already and so does the UFC.
He is likely losing his mind because he can’t fight and he isn’t earning any money.
One of the judges has already said he questions if SpikeTV really equals FOX…. So there is a good chance Alvarez could win this case.
Why would fighters be scared to sign with Bellator because Eddie Alvarez is an idiot? It shows that Viacom is not going to roll over for the UFC every time they try to raid the talent roster but that’s about it. Fighters with good representation won’t be in the position that Alvarez is.
>Why would fighters be scared to sign with Bellator
Because they heard about Tyson Nam, or Dave Herman, or Eddie Alvarez, or Jonathan Brookins….
Or Luis Santos who couldn’t go on TUF…
Or Cole Konrad who had to retire because he was stuck in Bellator and not being paid enough and not getting enough fights.
The list goes on and on.
Yeah the UFC has never had problems with anyone lol. If Dana was in a dispute with Eddie he would talking shit about him nonstop to anyone that would listen.
No one is disputing the fact that the UFC has had talent issues in the past.
But they have never gone full r#tard like Bellator is going. Once you sign with Bellator, you have entered a black hole. It is nearly impossible to get out of it.
Once you sign with the UFC, they have you for the set number of fights. Once you are done with those fights or they let you go…. They are done with you. They don’t bust your chops. They let you make a living with another company.
Bellator does not do that. Once a fighter tries to leave, they make their life a living h#ll. This has happened on so many occasions that is has become common practice…
Fighters are fickle and don’t care about what happened to others. They will always go where the paydays and best opportunity are. UFC doesn’t pay much starting out and it’s sink or swim right away and it’s not like their contracts are lenient either. If Bellator continues to grow fighters will continue to sign with them.
I thought this was a very good post from The UG (one of the few) fromt he President of Ingrained Media… http://www.ingrainedmedia.com/….
UFC – We own what we film and we can use it any way we want whenever we want. So if you agree to fight in UFC 161 we own that footage not you. We own all rights not you.
Bellator – We own what we film and we can use it any way we want whenever we want. So if you agree to fight in Bellator 15 we own that footage not you. We own all rights not you. We also have the right to your name, likeness, image, and nickname for all sports and entertainment. We have the right to file these ownership rights with the US Patent and Trademark Office.
UFC contract Kongo expires, he can still join Bellator or WsoF. He can play badmitton professionally, he can become a big soap opra star.
Bellator contract with Eddie expires, he can’t fight elsewhere once the matching period is over, they still own his name, likeness etc for all sports and entertainment in perpetuity.
Neither contract is anything to brag about, both are loop sided but only one works to control the athlete in perpetuity.
Eddie is being treated like an indentured servant. Bellator is protecting what they own. They do indeed own it. The legal battle can’t be over “I did not not know or understand” , the contract is clear and if it was read these terms are not hidden. So the only defense is the right to work, indentured servitude and Bellators ability to show its platform matches the UFC’s.
I have a UFC client who is inactive and can make 200K a year based on being a part of the UFC. I am sure Bellator wont be able to make that claim. It is not the same platform, not the same opportunity.
Plus Bellator has already set the precedent of allowing fighters under this same contract get out of it. Lots of legal maneuvers that favor Eddie. Yet the contract in all its horrid glory is printed on white paper with black ink. Every term that Bellator is using was clearly spelled out in the the agreement. Eddie entered into the agreement and performed services as the agreement stated he would. Bellator paid as they said they would. So disputing those facts will be a tough uphill battle for Eddie and his team.
Here is another post from the same guy…. He talks about why Eddie can’t just let the 6 or 12 month waiting period happen….He is answering another persons post… It is great information from a person who has seen both contracts and knows the differences. As you can read below, he says Bellator has worse contracts and he has had a client not sign with them…..
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“I’m far from sticking up for Bellator here But……
Eddie could have waiting out his matching period. He chose not to.”
-False, after the waiting period they own Eddies name, likeness and nickname for all sports and entertainment.
“Eddie signed the contract ( his previous one) , and was fine with the compensation and stipulations at that time.”
-True, his case is not about contract law but about being an indentured servant. Bellator is doing what the entertainment world has done for a long time. If we can’t have him neither can you. Brietbart.com is being sued for something similar.
“The Bellator contract is no more or less restrictive than the Zuffa contracts. This is not an issue of one company is easier than another.”
-False, no other promoter has a contract like Bellators.
“From Bellator’s perspective, they have to see this out as well. You can’t build fighters only to have them walk away with no option to resign them. Askren, Chandler, ect…… you just can’t afford to do business this way. “
-Would be true if they had not set a precedent of allowing other fighters to leave and compete elsewhere. So the battle with Eddie lies in the fact they do not want their star going elsewhere. Meanwhile his star power is diminishing. If they lose the case whoever gets Eddie will have to start over and have no momentum from Bellator.
“People seem resigned to the fact that every other company needs to hand over the goods if Zuffa ocmes calling, or the athlete feels like they want to move. Contracts in this type of biz are put in place to prevent that exact thing from happening, and have been in place for 100 years, and have been perfected.”
-I do not think that is what they are saying. The issue is Bjorn said he would let Eddie go if Eddie wanted to go. Eddie said I want to go and Bjorn said no. Eddie signed a bad contract but Eddie is only able to eat and pay his bills if he able to work. If he was a landscaper and I had a similar contract but was not working him the courts would rule I am blocking his right to earn.
“In my opinion the issue is fighters not understanding what they are signing. This is the fault of the Fighter, The manager and/or their advisor.”
-True, The managers/Advisors either knew or were at fault for not knowing the terms they were agreeing too. This is a separate lawsuit.
“Contact a lawyer who does this for a living, and have them break it down. Eddie and others would not be having these issues as they could have made an informed decision, or asked for language to be changed.”
-Bellator wont change the terms. We have opted to not sign a client to the org. We have never signed one of our clients and never would sign one to a Bellator deal. Again you might be confusing contract law with indentured servitude laws. There are many ways to try a case. I agree it is black and white based on contract law.
“Sadly Eddie isn’t going to win in court, he is going to waste time and money. And for what? “
-Not true, he has a case.
“As fans we always side with the fighters unless Dana tells us not to.
Bellator appears to be in a No Win situation but this is far from the case, they will set a very public relevant prescient that will shape how contracts are worded moving forward.”
-It is set, I forget which ex Bellator fighter it was but they have already set this precedent.
“There is nobody here naive enough to think that Zuffa has any interest in Bellator losing this case in court are there? It will say as much about their contracts as it does Bellator’s. “
-Just because Ken Pavia gave Bellator UFC’s contracts it does not mean they copied the contract. The fact is Bellator already had it’s shitty contract before The Pav passed it on. It was likely passed on to be shared with investors. Why? Because if you are a potential investor in MMA you likely are so based on your knowledge on UFC. If your angel with your investor group is that we can own these athletes and disrupt the sport or control it. Zuffa does not own its athletes. This is a the key difference between the two. Issue is entertainment law prohibits these types of contracts. Especially when the contracted party is paid only when he performs.
“Zuffa knows Eddie won’t win, that is why they just are not talking about it. It’s over, and it was over the minute Ed took bad advice and sent in Zuffa’s offer instead of waiting out the Matching period. “
-The matching period may expire but the ownership of name and likeness does not. If they have too, they have the right to file said ownership with the US Patent and Trademark office.
what Manapua doesnt understand is the UFC is the big org, they are king, when you are in the UFC there is nowhere to go but down.
So you tend to overlook restrictive contracts cause there is no higher org to go to.
Thats not the case in Bellator, they are below the UFC so signing with them and then being stuck and not able to move up to the UFC sucks for fighters.
Thats why it could hurt them signing prospects/fighters.
Even if both orgs have similar restrictive contracts is any fan going omg this is terrible, UFC signed Rory early on and he might spend his whole career in the UFC? No, because he can make the most money, get the most attention, fight the best nad become the best in the UFC.
But in Bellator they get a guy like Chandler early, they control him for years and when he is a free agent they have matching rights so he might have to spend the entire prime of his career in Bellator.
History fun with 45 Huddle:
“Once you sign with the UFC, they have you for the set number of fights. Once you are done with those fights or they let you go…. They are done with you. They don’t bust your chops. They let you make a living with another company.”
Just ask Randy Couture in 2008! “Champions Clause” ring a bell?
History Lesson for you…
They did not use the championship clause on Couture…
Couture still had fights left on his contract when he tried to “retire” in order to fight for Affliction.
Annnnnnnnnnd Alvarez’ contract has a matching clause.
Shittyor not, that’s the contract he signed.Also, it’s a good thing that Eddie talked to the “hire UPS”, otherwise he might have been locked into a no-compete clause with FedEx.
UFC Huddle you are just pathetic at this point. You are not skilled enough to make your troll seem valid here.
I am not trolling. And I even provided a very long example of somebody who knows the inside issues and talks about how bad Bellator is.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1629969-eddie-alvarez-discusses-his-lawsuit-with-bellator-ufc-contract-offer-and-more
“I want an opportunity to fight the best in the world and make millions of dollars doing it. What’s my opportunity going back to Viacom? Where’s my opportunity for any of that? Are there millions of dollars to be made? No. Can I become No. 1 in the world fighting there? No. Those are the questions that need answering. And if they’re both no? Then what can I do?”
What good prospect would read about Eddie Alvarez and then sign with Bellator?
http://www.mmafighting.com/2013/5/6/4304382/innocuous-phrase-may-have-cost-eddie-alvarez-seven-figures
Alvarez has already probably lost out on over $1 Million….
Man, Hector Lombard must be loving life now that he got that million dollar payday and immediate title shot.
Lombard was never promised a title shot…. Alvarez was….
And Lombard got such big paydays that Bellator didnt even try and test that one….
Incorrect. Lombard was promised one, than chose to fight sooner and not sit out. Which could have very well happened with Eddie.