Granted MMA is a little different. It’s rough. Fighters have extremely demanding training regimens and get the snot beaten out of them on a regular basis. But at times they’re the ones doing the snot beating, so they get to experience something most of us never do-the primal feeling of conquest and extreme individual achievement.

Am I suggesting fighters sit back and take whatever their magnanimous promoters give them and keep their mouths shut? No, and I even wrote a piece on the pros and cons of unionizing two years ago. This is a free market economy and they can negotiate all the want, but let’s put things into perspective here. Their complaints don’t make sense to those of us who want to see them fight. It seems arrogant and petty, so maybe there’s a different prize at stake here. Maybe it’s all about control, which Randy Couture has managed to wrestle some away from the UFC, a feat no one else will be able to accomplish because of his immense drawing power.

Will Couture’s holdout make an example for other fighters to follow? Nope. There’s only one Couture and this is likely the only time Dana White will stray from his hard line stance of “my way or the highway.” I just can’t see guys like Tito Ortiz or Tim Sylvia getting the same treatment, and if Roger Huerta isn’t careful, he’ll be fighting in the Extreme Sandlot League soon.

Like Couture, Huerta claimed he wasn’t being paid enough, a sentiment whose credibility is crumbling like the Parthenon. Simple numbers obtainable through the state athletic commissions prove the UFC’s pay scale has increased dramatically over the last few years. (Quick statistical departure-in 2005 the standard contract for a first time UFC fighter was $3000 to show up and $3000 to win. Fight of the night, submission of the night, and KO of the night bonuses were $10,000. At UFC 86 the UFC paid newcomer Corey Hill $8000 to show up and fight bonuses were $60,000.)

The pay surely isn’t enough to live on, but would you really expect anything different from a man who grew up poor in South Boston to a single mother? You have to consider who we’re talking about here. Like most of America Dana White believes in paying your dues, so whining about money will get you nowhere with him. And since the UFC is a privately owned company and MMA has no collective bargaining group (i.e. Union) to further fighter’s interests, don’t expect it to change.

Overall I say good for Randy. Although a terrible matchup from a pure fighting perspective and one that I’ll no doubt talk crap about (the only title shot Lesnar deserves is a copy of my book), Couture –Lesnar is a massive event that fans will line up to see, even if they’re sore over how long it took Couture to get back in the cage. When it’s over, only one person will be crying in their beer.