One of the biggest news items taken from the launch of the MMA Athletes Association (MMAAA) in November was the involvement of Bjorn Rebney. The MMAAA announcement conference call was the first time Rebney had spoken publicly for more than two years, after he was ousted as the president of Bellator MMA, the promotion he founded, in favor of Scott Coker.
A number of fighters and managers who worked with Rebney in his role as a promoter took offense to him being involved actively in a fighter association. Some, who said his record was less than stellar as a fighter advocate in the past, said it would not work with the MMAAA because of Rebney.