Impact FC, an Australian mixed martial arts start-up, may be done almost as quickly as it started.
The promotions put on two events in an eight-day span, one in Brisbane, the other in Sydney.
A report from Cage Potato shed light on the fact that the vast majority of the promotion’s fighters have yet to be paid. MMAWeekly.com was also able to verify those claims. Fighters such as Karo Parisyan, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, Jesse Taylor, Jeff Monson, Brian Ebersole, and Denis Kang are among those that have yet to receive payment or have only received partial payment.
The problem appears to be between the two men that head Impact FC and a disagreement over who was responsible for the finances. Australian concert promoter Andrew McManus and his Impact FC partner Tom Huggins are the principle parties sparring over who owes what.
“[Tom] Huggins has run back to Brazil and is uncontactable, whilst I (who never negotiated, contracted or was a party to any deal) have now been left trying to find funds to pay the men whilst all the false promises of sponsorships (never happened) and late gate sales and walk up all turned out to be lies,” McManus wrote in an email to Cage Potato.
“That statement is categorically untrue,” Huggins wrote in resonse to McManus. “I can provide you with the agreement between Andrew and myself, which clearly demonstrates that my responsibility was to procure fighters and make matches for the event within a given budget. The agreement clearly shows that ALL of the financing for the events, including fighter purses, was the responsibility of McManus.”
McManus then responded, saying he never signed such an agreement and that Huggins was a 50-percent partner in Impact FC.
It was unclear, at the time of publication, whether or not the fighters would eventually receive all of the payment due, but it seems apparent that Impact FC has had it’s day in the sun and will likely not come through on a planned September event.
UPDATE:
MMAWeekly.com has also received additional confirmation from Murilo Bustamante, who fought on the card against Jesse Taylor, that he along with several other fighters have not received payment for their part in the show. According to the Brazilian, promoters were set to wire money to the fighters after leaving Australia, but at this time many or all of them have yet to receive pay.
Source: http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/tem ... &zoneid=13
