Shine Fights Still Not Paying Fighters from Failed "Worlds Collide" Event Even as Second Event Nears

It’s tough to be the little guy. That’s why I have a lot of respect for both the lower-tier MMA promotions and the skilled athletes fighting in them. However, there is one thing I will never see as justifiable: not paying your fighters. I’d rather see a company go bankrupt than see a Mixed Martial Artist not get paid for putting his/her body on the line. It was bad enough with Impact FC not paying their fighters, but now it appears that another promotion, Shine Fights, has followed suit.

For those unfamiliar with the situation, Shine Fights is best known for their disastrous attempt at booking a MMA Pay-Per-View featuring MMA veteran Din Thomas taking on pro boxing star Ricardo Mayorga. As I’ve stated in several articles, I’m a fan of a good freak-show fight so long as it serves its purpose, so I had no problem with this fight. But obviously famed boxing promoter Don King did. King would file for an injunction the very week this fight was supposed to take place, claiming that Mayorga had signed an exclusive contract with King’s Don King Promotions.

Shine Fights top brass responded that the exclusive contract only covered pro boxing, not MMA, and therefore the fight with Mayorga would go on as planned. Judge Marc Gold granted King his injunction with only hours left before the event was scheduled to go on air. The entire situation could have gotten even crazier, as early reports claimed that Shine Fights would still put on the fight despite the serious legal ramifications of doing so. But in the end, the promotion conceded defeat and canceled the fight. Remarkably, the North Carolina Athletic Commission then stepped in and canceled the entire show.

The CEO of Shine Fights, Devin Price, was quick to state Shine’s intentions of rolling with the punches, putting on another card, and even paying the fighters from the canceled event. Recently it’s been announced that Shine Fights will indeed be hosting another event, tentatively scheduled to take place on September 10. But one Shine Fights fighter, MMA veteran Zac George, insists that he hasn’t seen a dime from the promotion. George told MMA Spot “I have not been paid in any way by Shine… I haven’t received as much as a text message concerning reimbursement. In all my 60 pro and amateur fights, I have never been so disrespected or felt so disposable…I still haven’t heard one word from them since this disaster started.” In the MMA Spot article, several other fighters were listed as still waiting for their money.

Now, this could have been a very tricky situation with no real right or wrong. Should promoters pay a fighter’s full salary when a show is canceled? Should the fighters receive monetary compensation for their hard work training for a fight but not actually fighting? If so, how much? Should the promoters sink even more money into their investment paying up the contracts of a show that was taken out of their hands and canceled without their input, without their consent, and without any consideration shown to the serious financial investment it takes to book and run an MMA show?

It could have been a very messy debate, but a decision was decided and a promise was promised: Shine Fights would pay their fighters. And now the promotion has gone back on its word. That’s what we should focus on, that’s what we should be critical of. And make no mistake about it, I’m highly critical of Shine Fights. Until they make good on their promise, I won’t support them. And if they have the gall to admit that they never intended to keep that promise and just said it to save face and get some good press, then I’ll never support them again. In fact, even with my “anything is better than nothing” stance on the MMA minor leagues, I think Shine Fights would be better off dead if those in charge don’t open their wallets and keep their word.

But what do you think, fans and friends? Should Shine Fights pay the fighters from the canceled show, or do fighters not deserve any compensation from a promotion until they actually fight?