Dana White: BREAKING UFC NEWS
By Sean Farrell
The UFC has revealed the most exciting gift a fighter could receive and that is that all of the top MMA promotion’s nearly 350 contracted fighters will now enjoy full accident insurance coverage, meaning that every single fighter the UFC has on their roster has access to “24-hour worldwide medical life insurance and dental coverage, as well as emergency medical evacuation.”
While the UFC always covered the expenses for injuries acquired by fighters on fight night, injuries or illnesses suffered during training were left in the fighters’ hands, many top fighters such as Miesha Tate and Pat Barry didn’t have medical insurance of any kind showing how BIG this step is for MMA as a sport. UFC/ZUFFA LLC. CEO Lornezo Fertitta released a statement explaining ZUFFA’s choice to provide a wider coverage for its fighters.
“Our athletes are some of the very best in the world and we’ve committed significant financial resources to provide them with insurance that complements the gold standard we have set for event-related coverage,” Fertitta said. “We’re pleased to provide coverage that enables our athletes to seek and receive treatment for injuries sustained while preparing for bouts.”
The UFC has been researching a way to provide their fighters with “training insurance,” but were unable to find willing insurance providers, until they struck a deal with the Houston Casualty Insurance Company to underwrite all the training coverage.
“As this sport continues to grow, we have been working hard to secure additional insurance coverage so that our athletes can perform at the highest levels,” said UFC President Dana White. “We’re proud to give our athletes access to this type of insurance.”
Maybe now that 350 fighters are medically covered we will see fighters return to the more brutal training tactics of martial arts, resulting in even more exciting fights.