TJ Dillashaw Rips UFC, Says It Treats Fighters Like Employees

Former UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw recently appeared on Team Alpha Male’s Stud Show Radio to let people how he felt about the way UFC treats it’s fighters, and he wasn’t happy.

Instead of treating the fighters like the independent contractors as classified, Dillashaw feels they are being treated as employees. One of his primary examples was USADA, which runs UFC’s drug testing, requiring whereabouts of the fighters in order to administer drug testing

“They treat us like employees, but they don’t give us benefits like employees,” Dillashaw said. “It’s kind of crazy when you think about it. We have to tell them where we’re at at all times, so USADA can show up and drug test us. But we don’t get health benefits. It’s kind of crazy that we are controlled. Any time you have to tell work where you’re at and what you’re doing, that’s considered an employee, not a contractor.”

UFC contracted fighters must tell USADA their schedules and locations at any given time in case an official comes to test them. Also, under the terms of the Reebok sponsorship deal, fighters must only wear Reebok during fight week and inside the Octagon. Due to the way the deal is structured, many fighters lost money from outside sponsorships.

“They can’t tell a subcontractor what to do and when to do it,” Dillashaw said. “So this whole drug-testing thing is kind of crazy and the way they’re making us wear Reebok and all this stuff we have to do. They’re treating us like employees, but not giving us the benefits of an employee.”

Dillashaw also showed his concern with the UFC’s recent sale to WME-IMG for $4 billion, which was announced after UFC 200. He note the fighters were sent an e-mail about the sale, saying nothing will change, but he isn’t sure “how long that’s gonna last.”

“They’re trying to make us do things and we’re not employees,” Dillashaw said. “So it’s kind of crazy.”

You can see the full podcast above.

By Carlos Toro