UFC fighters insure $1 Million athletes in case of traumatic brain injury. The event will be held on November 12, 2016 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.
According to the officials of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the UFC 205 policy cost per athlete per fight is $1,675 which will cost up to a million dollars to insure UFC fighters in case of a brain injury. The said amount of insurance is a requirement and part of the law which has been passed earlier this year to regularize Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighting in New York.
UFC 205 main card is a three title fight, including champion vs champion contest. The event spotlight is the lightweight championship fight between Eddie Alvarez and Conor McGregor. The other bouts are the Welterweight Championship fight between the five-time kickboxing world champion Stephen Thompson and the division's current champion Tyron Woodley. The other bout will be the UFC Women's Strawweight Championship fight between the current champion Joanna Jędrzejczyk and Karolina Kowalkiewicz.
A controversy is ignited from several longtime boxing promoters in connection to the new law. The CEO of boxing's Top Rank Promotion, Bob Arum, accuse the UFC of "freezing out" other promotions by endorsing for the escalated cost of requirements in its effort to regularize MMA in the state. The New York City requirement for general medical coverage for the athlete's combat sports is actually not new on the athletic commission, but the state took it a step further with its inclusion of a million-dollar coverage against the rare life-threatening brain injury.
Rumors and critics come out to say that it is not the prevention of injuries for the fighters the insurance intent to. Rather their only aim is to extract money from the promoters although a brain injury during every fight is very rare to happen. It is unusual that the usual cost per athletes is enough to shoulder this kind of injury whenever it occurs.
