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Retired MMA fighters may finally be getting something back from the sport they love because Marc Raimondi of ESPN is reporting that a bill has been proposed in the state of California that would create a pension plan for retired fighters.
Assemblymember Matt Haney, a Democrat representing San Francisco, is a bill sponsor and he told ESPN that fighters who competed approximately 13 times in the state would be eligible for the pension.
The bill was introduced to the state assembly earlier this month and it may be heard on the assembly floor by March 18. The state of California already has a pension plan in place for retired boxers, which is the only state in the United States to have one.
"We know that this is an incredibly popular sport," Haney said. "It's a sport that's growing and it's also one that can be dangerous and people put their bodies on the line for our entertainment. And as fans, we appreciate it, but we should make sure they're taken care of when they retire."
Current WWE star and former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey has already spoken out in support of the bill.
"You have a much shorter window [in MMA] because your body takes so much more of a heavier toll," Rousey told ESPN. "And the difference with these kind of combat sports, with all this contact and the neurological injuries involved, you don't know the day that you've taken one hit too many. You're going to find out that you crossed that threshold many decades later when you no longer have that extra income. It's when you're dealing with the repercussions of that career is when you no longer have that income stream."
If the bill does pass and become law, it would require MMA promotions to issue $1 from each ticket sold for an event in California to go into the pension fund. The state would then cut checks to qualified fighters once a year, assuming that they are 50 years in age or older.
Rousey also says she thought nobody cared about the fighters once their careers have come to an end.
"I was really almost like shocked and encouraged by humanity [that] anyone is even thinking of the fighters after they're not fighting anymore," Rousey said. "I just kind of thought that nobody cares ever, that they only want to see us punch each other and it's really cool and then they forget about us and don't ever think about us for a second after that.
"This is the first time I've really felt that anyone is actually thinking about the fighters themselves, not just the fight, and actually cares about the people and not thinking of us as a product. And if this doesn't pass, I'll be extremely disappointed.
"I can't think of a single reason why all of these fighters who are literally fighting their hearts out and putting their lives on the line to entertain people haven't had this support already. And I'm really keeping my fingers crossed -- if I could cross them, because they're so damaged from fighting -- that this will pass."
