I’ve been following this game from a wonderful vantage point for the last six years, and was “just a fan” for seven years before that. Never before have the folks at Zuffa opened up the books like they did yesterday. Thanks to a fax from Zuffa’s P.R. department, I’ve got a copy of the materials released to the media yesterday in my hot little hand, and let me tell you something:
There is no point to use words like “alleged” or “supposed” when discussing the hard facts in this situation. There is a reason that Zuffa released this information, and the reason is simple. Randy Couture is either a very confused man when it comes to his own finances, is playing the media as his agent has directed him to, or is just straight lying. Something tells me it just might be a combination of all three, but I have no idea what is going on as far as Randy’s thought process is concerned.
All I do know is that the numbers Zuffa has released all add up. Zuffa is a multi-million dollar, cash based, private company. As the fiance to an IRS Chief Council attorney, I can tell you very plainly that companies like Zuffa are heavily scrutinized when it comes to their books. If they released numbers that were higher or lower than they really are, red flags would go up all over the place. Being dishonest with these numbers would cause Zuffa more headaches than it would solve. Why would they make this stuff up? Why run the risk of a federal audit just to discredit someone in a public forum? It would make absolutely no sense at all.
I understand the hero worship that Randy has garnered for himself. It is understandable that so many people really want to believe everything Randy says, simply because they see him as “Captain America”. However there have been some pretty clear instances where it seemed Randy was being less than honest. This could be due to his own ignorance, or any of the previously mentioned motivations.
An example of this is his allegation that he didn’t get the same “off the books bonus” after the Gonzaga fight that he got after his fight with Sylvia. The documentation yesterday makes it pretty clear that he never got an “off the books bonus”. Randy was clearly implying that Zuffa makes it a practice of paying people under the table. A romantic notion if one really thinks Zuffa is tied to the mafia (which there is no evidence to back up). But common sense should prevail here.
Zuffa is not a landscaping business. We’re not talking about paying some kid 15 bucks an hour under the table. We’re talking hundreds of thousands of dollars. If you think that each of those taxable dollars doesn’t need to be accounted for at the end of the fiscal year, I hate to burst your bubble, but, *pop*, there it goes.
The contradictory nature of what each side is saying can only really be settled with hard evidence.
Randy simply estimated during his press conference that he made “about half a million” in PPV bonus dollars after his Sylvia fight. Zuffa provided documentation, which clearly shows that number to be $936,000, and this included some check receipts to boot. I don’t know about you, but I’d love to be wealthy enough to let $436,000 just sorta slip through the cracks or get swept under the rug.
And what about the confusion Randy seems to have regarding his signing bonus? Randy implied during his press conference that he believed the second half of his signing bonus to be an “off the books bonus”. Zuffa clearly demonstrated that not only was that money accounted for, it was NOT a bonus for his performance in the Sylvia fight. They back this up with a letter from Dana to Randy, which accompanied the check. It was Zuffa fulfilling their end of the contract that Randy negotiated as his own manager, which he signed.
The facts all fall in favor of Zuffa with regards to what Randy has been paid. All evidence points to Randy being incorrect here. Is it confusion or manipulation of a situation? Dana seems to think its manipulation, and the evidence that was presented yesterday makes it look pretty obvious that Randy’s reasons for leaving are likely not getting fully disclosed. But its Randy not disclosing that information, not Zuffa.
Its a rare thing when this kind of documentation is released to give a more clear picture of what is really going on. Considering Randy negotiated his own contract, and also the facts laid out by Zuffa yesterday, someone is being shady. And this is the first time I can say that the person being shady isn’t Tito or Dana, its Randy. It very well might be someone behind Randy that is pushing this situation. Perhaps his wife or his agent? But at the end of the day the descrepency between reality and the way the situation has been presented is entirely due to the words that came out of Randy’s mouth and he doesn’t look good at all because of it.
Unless of course, you worship the man as a hero and think he can do no wrong. In that case, you’d be better suited looking for super heros in comic books, because they don’t actually exist, and Randy’s no angel. This situation should make it even more obvious to the casual fan given the case Zuffa has made for themself.
I for one am anxious to see what happens with the fight Dana mentioned setting up for Randy. If he opts out of his contract, the only viable option is retirement. This is a brilliant maneuver by Zuffa, because it will force Randy’s hand. If he doesn’t honor the contract, he’s “officially” retired. Given what Lorenzo said about “we will do whatever is necessary to protect our rights”, it is very safe to say that Randy will need a court to free him of his current contract if he truly does intend to fight elsewhere. Given all the other elements involved here, that is yet another fight he’ll be the under dog in. Except this time he doesn’t look to stand much of a chance at all.
Loading ...
October 31st, 2007 at 10:47 am
Great article, Matt. broke it down and had a point from the beginning, and a sad, but finally, true fact it is. Interesting to see the reaction today as the numbers get scrutinized by the mainstream (UFC looks to be winning the P.R. war easily) and by a pro-Couture MMA media (not because because they’re jerks, but most people side on fighter’s rights usually). It will be interesting to see it this takes with the general fan who reads online,or like forensic evidence in the O.J. case, people shake there heads and go, “I don’t know about all that, but I like that Randy Couture”. Look forward to more of your stuff