Opinion: Bellator MMA and the Role of Competition

Editor’s note: The views and opinions expressed below are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sherdog.com, its affiliates and sponsors or its parent company, Evolve Media.* * * The word “monopoly” evokes a number of reactions. For some, it means the death of competition and the rise of bully businesses that can jack up prices at their sinister whims. For others, it means family squabbles and slammed game boards from landing on Boardwalk — again — after your little brother put a hotel on it. Either way, rarely does a positive reaction follow discussion of monopolies. Even monopolistic entities themselves try to avoid the term, lest they incur greater scrutiny from the angry masses who are still recovering from the previous night’s board game defeat.Monopolies are tricky, though. In many instances, they’re better for both consumers and employees than competitive markets. A company that is constantly trying to outmaneuver competitors will likely have little ability or desire to truly take care of its workers. Rather, said workers become more replaceable and interchangeable in a state of perfect competition, since their salaries would be quick to put on the chopping block in the race to cut costs and increase profits. On the other hand, a business that has no real outside threats has the resources and ability to take care of its workers more comprehensively. It’s why Google — which dominates search engine competitors like Yahoo and Microsoft’s Bing to the extent they can hardly be considered competitors — is renowned for how well it treats its employees. As for the consumer, look no further than sports markets. The NFL, NBA and MLB are all beloved monopolies, mostly because competition would directly dilute the product. If Lebron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant all played in different basketball leagues, there would certainly be more organizational competition in the world of basketball, but it would make the game worse. This is especially pertinent to mixed martial arts, since it wasn’t too long ago that promotions other than the Ultimate Fighting Championship hosted enough talent to water down several divisions. Once Pride Fighting Championships and Strikeforce got absorbed, the heavyweight, light heavyweight and middleweight rosters in particular went through much-needed refurbishing. There’s one key difference between those traditional sports leagues and the UFC, and I’m sure you see it coming already: collective bargaining. In the NBA, NFL and MLB, players receive around half of all company profits, while UFC fighters get less than 20 percent. There are meaningful structural differences between the UFC and those leagues to consider, but ultimately the pie is smaller for fighters because nothing has forced the UFC’s hand to do something differently. Enter Bellator MMA. In the absence of a fighter’s union, competition is essential for fighters to get their bread …

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