Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Former UFC Heavyweight Todd Duffee Speaks Out On 'MMA Manager Mafia' That 'Controls' Promotions

Originally posted on MMA News | Last updated 9/21/23

Todd Duffee recently spoke at length about his feelings on MMA managers and their practices ahead of his promotional debut for RIZIN this weekend.

The 37-year-old fought for the first time in more than three years when he challenged Phil De Fries for the KSW heavyweight title last February, but unfortunately the UFC veteran suffered a knockout loss in the first round after he previously stopped De Fries at UFC 155.

Now set to meet Tsuyoshi Sudario at RIZIN 44, Duffee spoke to Cageside Press before his debut for the Japanese organization and shared some thoughts about the sway that he feels managers have with a lot of MMA promotions.

“Promoters don’t necessarily want what fans want,” Duffee said. “That's what I would say. It’s a dirty game in that aspect especially. There’s a bad MMA manager mafia that kind of controls the majority of these promotions, and if you’re not in one of those, you’re not getting in a lot of times. It’s not for lack of trying.”

Todd Duffee: "I Don't Think Managers Are Really Necessary In The Sport"

Duffee had two different stints with the UFC before moving on to KSW and now RIZIN, and the heavyweight says life as a free agent isn’t exactly easy if you don’t have a manager that’s already working with a major promotion.

“I don’t think managers are really necessary in the sport past the promoters using managers to manipulate. I don’t know what managers do past make friends with the promoters and massage their guys in. I’m really lacking to understand what that is in MMA. And the reality is, if you don’t have a manager, a lot of times the promotions won’t even talk to you. They’ll dismiss you, and I don’t have an answer as to why that is. Have some ideas; every promotion’s different.”

Newly-crowned UFC Bantamweight Champion Sean O’Malley made headlines for his comments criticizing MMA managers ahead of UFC 292, and after upsetting Aljamain Sterling to become champion the 28-year-old has doubled down on his efforts to address the issue.

Concerns about managers aside, Duffee can at least be happy with the fact that he’ll have competed twice in a year for the first time since 2012 when he steps into the ring to take on Sudario as part of the main card for RIZIN 44 this weekend.

This article first appeared on MMA News and was syndicated with permission.

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