Roy Nelson is on the shelf for a while or is he? Inside MMA needed to bring Roger Cossack on board to navigate this story. Nelson is being sued by Square Ring Inc. for a contract signed before his fight against Jeff Monson in March of 2009. Nelson then accepted a slot on Season 9 of "The Ultimate Fighter." That's where things get fuzzy.
Apparently, SRI believes it holds promotional rights for Nelson and the fighter violated the deal by working out a deal with Zuffa. But there's a lot more to the story that the casual viewer should know.
The IMMA interview is incredibly misleading in several ways. Roy Jones is made into the villain. That's really not the case. Square Ring Inc. is a legitimate promoter in the world of boxing, so it's not Jones simply trying to screw over the MMA fighter.
Secondly, Nelson was working in a matchmaking capacity for the promotion after his March of 2009 fight. According to the Fight Lawyer blog, Square Ring built its lawsuit around a short conversation between the UFC's Marc Ratner and Nelson at a May 2009 MMA event in Primm, Nev.
On or about May 24, 2009, Defendant's Vice President of Government and Regulatory Affairs, Mr. Marc Ratner, attended the Primm Event. Plaintiff s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. John Wirt, spoke with Mr. Ratner at the Primm Event and told Mr. Ratner that Mr. Nelson was not only assisting SRI's matchmaker for the MMA bouts on the Primm Event, but also that Mr. Nelson was under contract with SRI as a fighter. Mr. Ratner also spoke separately with Mr. Nelson while at the Primm Event.
In the end, it sounds like the lawyers have to figure out some cash settlement Nelson will have to send the way of Square Ring.
Check out the interview and then read the take from the Fight Lawyer. SRI probably has a case and Nelson is far from a fighter getting bullied by Jones. Hopefully, the financial terms can be worked out quickly so Nelson can get back into the Octagon sooner rather than later. Because of his fighting style, appearance and ability to promote a fight, just about every high level UFC heavyweight is calling out the mulleted-mammoth. Nelson's tale should serve as a lesson to all MMA fighters outside the UFC. Get a lawyer before you sign any contract!
No comments:
Post a Comment