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Josh Burkman explains what led to Twitter incident with World Series of Fighting
Apr 12, 2014 - 2:45:53 PM Josh Burkman explains what led to Twitter incident with World Series of Fighting

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-

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Josh Burkman caused a stir with World Series of Fighting recently after taking some of his grievances to Twitter regarding his contract. It didn't take long for things to get worked out from there, but he went into more detail this week regarding what caused the issue in the first place in an interview with Elias Cepeda at Yahoo! Sports.

"It's easy for things to get overlooked," Burkman said. "WSOF is a new and fast-growing organization. They've got a lot of fighters and a lot of contracts and it's possible that they don't know what each one says, you know? I've got a clause that keeps me active, meaning they have to give me a certain amount of fights in a certain period of time. Going into the [WSOF 9] card, we were coming right up on that deadline where they owed me another fight. I told [WSOF matchmaker] Ali [Abdelaziz] that I wanted to fight on the card, but he said the card was filling up and at budget."

"I understood and I'm sure he was right, but I needed another fight. I wanted to fight again after my last one to prove that I had an off night. So, I reminded him that it was in my contract that they needed to get me on this card."

"So, they put me on the card against Stinson but sent me a bout agreement that paid me less than what my contract with them said I am supposed to get paid," he continued. "So, right then, I made a plan to fight Stinson, hopefully win, and then ask for my release. I was pretty sure that with the way I'd been fighting in recent years, that if I could get another win, I'd be able to sign with other organizations."

"To be honest, I didn't think they'd mind too much. Ali and Ray Sefo had been saying that they wouldn't stand in the way of fighters leaving if they wanted to leave. I never thought that it would create this big stir."

Ultimately, the WSOF didn't want to part ways with him that quickly, which initiated Burkman's public outburst, but they made quick work in remedying the situation after the nasty public tussle. For Burkman, though, the situation just represented standing up for what he felt was owed him contractually, and though he got what he needed to finish out his contract, it sounds as if that may be it for him.

"Fighters just have to stand up for themselves," Burkman said. "I never have and never will complain about the type of work I'm in or the lack of security and stability that being a fighter offers. I don't cry about that. I knew it going in and I love training and fighting so that's why I do it. But, because fighters are basically on their own, you just have to make sure that you get what you are owed while you can and then be smart with your money so you can possibly have it for the future to open a gym or do something else."

"I honestly think that my relationship with WSOF is better for all this happening," Burkman continued. "I also think that WSOF is better off for it happening. Like I said, they are a new promotion and growing fast. It is going to be hard to keep track of all the moving parts they have. I think they are good for the sport but I just needed to advocate for myself."

"As my own manager, I've always believed hard in fighting for myself but I've also always tried to see the promotion's perspective. So, you just try to get what is possible and best for you as the fighter and the promotion. So, WSOF paid me what they owed me and I agreed to fight the last fight on my contract for them. They want it to be a title fight, fine. I'm perfectly fine fighting for a title. But a lot of things have to fall in place for that to happen. If they do, great. If not, I'm happy to fight anybody."

PENICK'S ANALYSIS: Burkman still should have done something about the bout agreement they sent over for Stinson ahead of time, as some of this could have been avoided. At the same time, it seems there was a lack of communication, along with WSOF officials not fully aware of what they'd promised Burkman. That's been settled, and they'll need to take a look at all of their contracts to figure out if there are other such clauses they need to be aware of.

[SOURCE LINK]

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