Gegard Mousasi har tidigare uttryckt sin frustration över försenade sponsorintäkter. Efter att problemet uppenbarligen inte har löst sig har Mousasi nu bestämt sig för att stämma märket Fear the Fighter.
Gegard Mousasi (36-5-2) är en av de mest meriterade atleterna i UFC:s mellanviktsdivision. I sin UFC-karriär har han besegrat namn som Dan Henderson (30-13) och Mark Munoz (13-6), liksom svenske Ilir Latifi (9-4, 1 NC), och enbart förlorat mot toppnamn såsom Ronaldo ”Jacare” Souza (22-3, 1 NC). Trots framgång i oktagonen har Mousasi dock haft problem med en sponsor som inte betalat honom avtalad summa. Det rör sig om märket Fear the Fighter, och Mousasi har tidigare uttryckt sin frustration över situationen via twitter.
I am putting all of the sponsors that have refused to pay me the money they owe on notice. I am calling u out bc. I know I am not the only 1
— Gegard Mousasi (@mousasi_mma) December 9, 2014
@Fearthefighter u have refused for my last 2 fights & still owe me money from my 1st fight. U owe myself and others. @ftfenergy @ufc
— Gegard Mousasi (@mousasi_mma) December 9, 2014
@Fearthefighter u promised me and @ufc that u would pay, and u lied to us. Instead of paying your debt u are investing in @ftfenergy
— Gegard Mousasi (@mousasi_mma) December 9, 2014
All @ufc fighters I encourage all of you to speak up about sponsors that are stealing from you. We have to support each other!
— Gegard Mousasi (@mousasi_mma) December 9, 2014
Det visar sig nu att situationen inte har löst sig, och att vidare åtgärder tagits från Mousasis sida. MMA Junkie var i kontakt med hans manager Nima Safapour som bekräftade att de har stämt Fear the Fighter Apparel, och den kanadensiska UFC-fightern John Makdessi (12-3) som driver företaget.
“Gegard Mousasi has filed a lawsuit against John Makdessi and Fear The Fighter Apparel. The facts speak for themselves.”
“Per the public corporate records filed in Canada, John Makdessi is the president of Fear The Fighter Apparel. An unpaid debt is owed and outstanding to Mr. Mousasi [along with a number of other fighters]. Despite making countless promises that payment would be forthcoming, Fear The Fighter has yet to pay the debt that they owe. They missed every deadline and used every excuse under the sun as to why they could not send a wire transfer or mail a check. They even threatened to take legal action against the athletes they owe money to if they were to publicly speak out about the monies that are owed.”
Safapour fortsatte sedan med att uttrycka sin frustration över att John Makdessi samtidigt är en UFC-fighter själv, och underströk att Mousasi är en man som håller på sin integritet och sina principer.
“Along with being the president of Fear The Fighter Apparel per the public records, John Makdessi is also under contract with the UFC. This is the first time that we have seen a UFC fighter use the UFC platform to cheat other UFC athletes from their rightful sponsorship earnings. We take this matter seriously and as a great priority as this has become a fighter issue.”
“Mr. Mousasi is a person of integrity and principle. He is focused on pursuing all of his legal remedies to the fullest extent possible. We welcome the judicial process as it has become abundantly clear that Fear The Fighter does not intend to fulfill their promises to the detriment of Mr. Mousasi.”
Enligt anonyma källor rör sig den obetalda summan om $25,000 dollar, men ingenting är bekräftat i det avseendet. Mousasi själv har inte velat kommentera ärendet direkt, utan istället hänvisat till sin managers utlåtande.
Foto Per Häljestam
