What is the Ali Act and why should you care?
Ask any aspiring MMA fighter, and they would say that their dream is to compete in the UFC one day. During my time as a journalist, I’ve talked to numerous Indian fighters – some have a more realistic approach – fight and get paid. Others plan to live the dream of millions by fighting under the bright lights of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
UFC is the largest Mixed Martial Arts organization in the world, followed by the likes of Bellator Fighting Championship and numerous other smaller league promotions. However, only UFC and Bellator can truly offer lucrative contracts to the fighters.
While the Fertittas and Dana have turned UFC into a multi – billion dollar promotion, Viacom’s backing has quickly made Bellator yet another alternative for the fighters.
However, MMA is still growing, and in no shape or form is perfect. In fact, choosing MMA as a career option doesn’t work out most of the times. From making all the right noises in the smaller leagues to catching the eye of one of the top promotions, there are no guarantees in MMA.
If you don’t get into the UFC, Bellator or ONE Championship, there is a good chance you’d be forced to look for other career options.
Making it to the big leagues isn’t as lucrative either. Before I go any further, I’d like to point out that the opinions stated in the article are my own, and while covering the sport is a decision I’ve made, I necessarily don’t have to agree with what is going on in the sport.