UFC president Dana White believes the newly formed Mixed Martial Arts Athletes Association (MMAAA) has already made a crucial error by aligning itself with former Bellator MMA head Bjorn Rebney.
The MMAAA announced its formation last week, citing a "sole concentration [to] fight for the rights of MMA fighters." The group, which includes former UFC champion Georges St-Pierre, is seeking a higher revenue share for UFC athletes, as well as pension plans and health care, among other actions.
White questioned the association's decision to include Rebney as an "advisor" to its board of five fighters. Rebney is a former promoter, having founded Bellator MMA in 2008.
"The one thing they did wrong in the whole thing is get involved with a guy named Bjorn Rebney," White told SportsCenter on Tuesday. "As adults, there's a lot of bad people who try to get into our pockets. He's one of them."
In a separate interview on the UFC Unfiltered podcast, White referred to Rebney as a "scumbag."
Rebney has accused the UFC and its current ownership at WME-IMG of sharing only 8 percent of the company's revenue with its athletes. Last week, Rebney claimed he paid his contracted athletes 53 percent during his most successful year as a promoter.
The UFC has always been a private company, which protects its financial records. White, however, denied Rebney's claims of an 8 percent revenue split on SportsCenter.
"When they say [we're paying 8 percent of the revenue], I hope they're talking about [lightweight champion] Conor McGregor," White said. "A lot of the things they are saying are very, very inaccurate."
In addition to St-Pierre, the MMAAA board consists of active UFC fighters Tim Kennedy, Cain Velasquez, TJ Dillashaw and Donald Cerrone.
The MMAAA is one of several current efforts to improve the labor landscape in mixed martial arts. Another effort attempting to unionize UFC fighters was announced by baseball agent Jeff Borris in August.