The Fall of Team Lakay: Manager”s purse cut caused fighter exodus

Previously undisclosed reasons behind the shock fighter exodus from the fabled Team Lakay of Baguio City have started to come out.

Last year, former ONE lightweight world champion Eduard Folayang, touted as the face of Philippine mixed martial arts, announced his departure from Team Lakay after sixteen years of working together.

But his exit from Team Lakay turned out to be just the tip of the iceberg. Shortly after his announcement, former world champions Kevin Belingon, Honorio Banario, and Joshua Pacio also announced they left the team.

The initial wave of departures sent shockwaves in the local scene before reverberating to the rest of the MMA world.

The four who left first have since co-founded a new team, Lions Nation MMA, where they were joined by other ex-Team Lakay fighters such as Jeremy Pacatiw, Jenelyn Olsim, Edward Kelly, and Danny Kingad.

Fan-favorite Lito Adiwang, another athlete who departed the team, is now based in Bali, Indonesia, where he trains out of Soma Fight Club. The most recent departure, Stephen Loman, has yet to announce the team he is joining next.

And while the aftermath of the fighter exodus suggested that the parties had an amicable split and are on good terms, new information is coming to light as some fighters have begun speaking up about their exit.

One fighter who left Team Lakay shared that one of the reasons for his leaving the team was the cut that the team’s head coach and manager Mark Sangiao took from the fighters’ purses – which the athlete felt was too high.

According to a 2022 manager-fighter contract obtained by this writer, Sangiao as the manager was “entitled to a commission of THIRTY Percent (30%) of the net proceeds of the fees contracted to the fighter.” In addition to that the contract also stated “The MANAGER shall be entitled to a 30% cut from any bonus given to the FIGHTER by any promotion he is fighting with, apart from the Fight Purse and Win bonus given to him by the said promotion;” — bonuses that could amount to millions of pesos.

On top of the cut from fighter purses, the contract also stated that in the case of sponsorships that amount to P10,000 or more, “the MANAGER shall allot a 50% share to the FIGHTER, 25% to the agent who has closed the deal with the Sponsor and 25% to the MANAGER of the the total amount given by the Sponsor.”

The fighter, who requested anonymity, not only believes that the percentage was high, but also feels that the team did not live up to its end of the contract. While the contract stated that the manager “shall undertake to secure and provide for the fighter the best trainers, and conducive training environment in preparation for each fight,” the fighter believes they were not provided adequate support.

“It was a problem because this is an ever-evolving sport and us, the athletes, at least wanted a jiu-jitsu and wrestling coach to join us for a whole camp,” the source said.

“We did not have that so there was no justice to the thirty percent cut that included the bonuses. We wanted to catch up with other techniques yet we were stuck with where we were.”

STANDARD INDUSTRY RATE

According to former UFC fighter, bareknuckle boxer, and MMA trainer Rolando Dy, combat sports trainers, boxing and MMA included, usually take only ten percent (10%) of a fighter’s guaranteed purse while bonuses are excluded.

Dy runs his own team, Dy Incredible MMA, where he seeks fights for his athletes and trains them with a team of coaches across MMA, boxing, and bareknuckle boxing. In return, he takes 10% from his athletes. His team also has a manager who takes 10% from their fighters.

“A trainer gets 10% and if he’s also a manager then that is another 10%. Anything more is unacceptable. I do not take much from fighters’ purses because it is my passion to develop fighters. 10% is enough,” Dy said in an exclusive interview.

Dy said that a 30% cut is only understandable if the manager pays for all of the fighter’s training and living expenses such as food and accommodation.

Furthermore, he noted that it is not standard practice to take from bonuses.

“Taking a cut from win and performance bonuses is not the general practice. Even the international agents I have worked with do not take from win and performance bonuses.”

GAB MEDIATION

Sangiao initially stated publicly that he had allowed his fighters to freely leave the stable.

But he recently sought help from the Games and Amusements Board (GAB), the country’s regulatory body for professional sports, regarding the enforcement of some of the athletes’ contracts.

Sangiao wrote the board that his ex-athletes had “live contract[s] with Team Lakay, left the team. There [were] no written or legal process that took place to settle the matters [amicably] and fairly.”

READ MORE | Mark Sangiao reveals Joshua Pacio was still under contract with Team Lakay, but let him go ‘out of respect’

In a letter from the GAB dated February 1, Sangiao, as well as fighters Pacio, Kingad, Pacatiw, and Loman, were summoned to the GAB office in Makati for mediation last February 6.

None of the four fighters attended the mediation. Sangiao, the complainant, was present at the meeting.

NOT A LICENSED MANAGER

“Coach Marquez Sangiao has sought our assistance in mediating the issues and concerns surrounding the management contracts he has executed with some of the fighters under his stable,” GAB chairman Atty. Richard Clarin shared.

“However, our records show that these contracts were not registered with the Games and Amusements Board,” he added.

For many years, Sangiao acted as both manager and trainer to Team Lakay athletes. But upon checking his profile at the sports body, he is not properly licensed as a manager.

Sangiao is indeed licensed as both a promoter and trainer, but not registered as a manager. If he was, GAB noted that managers are allowed to take a cut of up to thirty-three percent (33%).

Furthermore, the GAB manual governing professional mixed martial arts in the Philippines says managers must have a notarized GAB-approved manager-fighter contract after a signing.

GAB also advocates that a representative from the board is present during a contract signing between a manager and fighter be it in person or online. Though not mandatory, it is the board’s attempt to protect fighters from abusive contracts.

In the case of Sangiao and his ex-fighters, though, GAB said that the Team Lakay coach never had his contracts approved by the board, which raises questions about the validity of the contracts signed by his former fighters. In the contract signing of Sangiao and his former MMA fighters, none of them were made in the presence of a GAB representative.

“We would like to remind all managers, boxers, fighters, and promoters that under the existing rules and regulations, all contracts, to be recognized and enforced by the Board, shall be registered and approved by the Board,” Clarin said.

SANGIAO’S SIDE

This writer reached out to Sangiao for a comment regarding his manager-fighter contract and his license to manage prizefighters.

Speaking through Team Lakay’s legal counsel, Atty. Froilyn P. Doyaoen-Pagayatan, Sangiao remained mum about these topics and instead pointed to how the four fighters did not attend the mediation.

“The statements about the Team Lakay contracts with its fighters that are recently being spread on social media contain falsehoods and are meant to cover up the breach of contract committed by the fighters when they left the Team Lakay stable without any valid reason,” Team Lakay said in a statement.

“The truth is, upon the request of Coach Mark, the Games and Amusement Board (GAB) scheduled a mediation hearing on February 6, 2024 for the amicable settlement of the breach of contract issues. However, none of the fighters attended the mediation despite proper and sufficient notice.”

According to the statement provided, the ongoing dispute between Sangiao and his former fighters may end up with them duking it out in court.

“The GAB mediation would have been the perfect avenue for the fighters to properly raise their issues with the contracts. But they deliberately snubbed the mediation hearing prompting the GAB to recommend to Coach Mark to file the appropriate complaints against them,” the statement mentioned.

“Coach Mark had misgivings about following the recommendation of the GAB as it would have adverse effects on the fighters. However, with these recent developments, Coach Mark is being compelled to undertake the necessary legal action to make the fighters be accountable for their breach of their contracts with Team Lakay.”

GAB chairman Clarin, though, continued to express his hope that the ongoing dispute between Sangiao and his former fighters will eventually come to a close, especially with how many years Team Lakay shared together.

“As part of our responsibilities at the GAB, we facilitate mediation for parties involved. We are committed to exploring all means to reach an amicable settlement or compromise agreement,” the GAB chairman stated.

“Given the close-knit nature of our professional sports industry, maintaining positive relationships is paramount. As the Chairperson of GAB, I am optimistic that all parties can come together at the table to resolve their disputes.”

—JMB, GMA Integrated News