'Somebody's got to do it first': California's new license plates help fund retired fighter pension fund

It’s the kind of idea that fight fans seem to mostly agree with once they hear it. It’s a simple idea, not so radical at all, really. It’s just that few people seem to think about it until someone else brings it up.

The idea goes like this: There should be some kind of pension fund for retired pro fighters. It’s the kind of thing that exists, in one form or another, in most other major pro sports. Athletes create value that the league continues to profit from both directly and indirectly for years.

They often sacrifice their bodies to do it. So why shouldn’t we take some of the money flowing in now and set it aside for later, when aging and retired pro fighters may need it most? “I think it just makes sense,” said Andy Foster, the executive director of the California State Athletic Commission.

“We’ve had the boxing fund for a long time, but the MMA pension fund is new. ” The way it works is that, once they hit the age of 50, eligible fighters can receive payouts determined by a formula that takes into account the number of bouts they fought in the state of California, and the purses for those bouts. The boxing version of this fund has existed in California since 1982, but the MMA equivalent was only signed into law in 2023.