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Rewriting MMA’s Script, Part 2: Agents of Doom

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.

I started this series—which aims to put MMA’s seemingly intractable problems under the microscope—with a discussion of how the fighters on the UFC roster routinely legitimize and defend the promotion’s actions even when they are averse to athletes’ interests. I argued that fighters’ extraordinary deference to authority reinforces the power asymmetry that is so central to the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s exploitative labor practices, while stifling any form of labor consciousness and making solidarity in relation to even most modest reforms seemingly impossible.