UFC fighters Belal Muhammad and Manel Kape have slammed the first-round management for their lack of management and organization skills.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship UFC is at the apex of mixed martial arts platforms. Most MMA fighters aim to sign a UFC contract one day. The spotlight fighters get from being in the UFC is unparalleled. But one thing that has been a topic of controversy is the amount of money that fighters make from the UFC. While the UFC always defends its compensation models, many athletes in and outside of the UFC have called for alterations to the system.
One such recent call-out has been from UFC Flyweight fighter Manel “Starboy” Kepe. Kepe, who is ranked number 14 in the world, came out on Twitter and said that he is dissatisfied with the management and organization skills of the first-round management team.
“Unfortunately they don’t do a Management job, they’re just a collector of athletes’ money. I’ve been with them and I can say that the lack of organization is abysmal. I had to fight, and organize all the paperwork that UFC sent.”
He also said, “You want to ruin your career, join them.”
Unfortunately they don't do a Management job, they're just a collector of athletes' money. I've been with them and I can say that the lack of organization is abysmal. I had to fight, organize all the paperwork that ufc sent, anyway. You want to ruin your career, join them … https://t.co/eTO4LTNVSN
— マネル・ケイプ Manel Kape (@ManelKape) April 25, 2022
Welterweight contender Belal “Remember The Name” Muhammad has echoed the statements made by Kepe. Belal claims that the First-round management has not helped him to turn his name into a brand. The number 5 welterweight also expressed his delight in proving the agency wrong as they did not believe in him.
Yea collector of money is the perfect description that’s all they did never helped me build my brand …and they also told me I’d never make it but here we are number 5 in the world 🤷🏻 https://t.co/B5LularsoC
— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) April 25, 2022
Belal, who recently beat Vicente Luque, has been very vocal on social media recently. He has been calling out fighters and has now slammed his employers for their lack of organization skills.
First-round management has an image to maintain, and such allegations against the authorities should not go unnoticed. It will be interesting to see how the First-round management hierarchy responds to the claims made by Belal Muhammad and Manel Kape.
