Borg sued by his former coach
Vaughn alleges that MMA fighter owes his company $3,600 for nixed bout
Well, this could get awkward. Albuquerque MMA fighter Ray Borg has been sued in Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court by his former coach.
Tom Vaughn filed the civil suit Dec. 13, alleging that Borg owes Vaughn’s company, Wildbunch Management, LLC, $3,600 as per an existing contract between the two. Vaughn also is asking for some $1,100 in attorney’s fees.
Borg (9-2) is scheduled to face Louis Smolka (112) Friday on UFC 207 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas Nev.
Vaughn will be there, as well, and he and Borg are bound to run into each other. Welterweight Tim Means (26-7), who trains with Vaughn at Albuquerque’s FIT-NHB gym, is scheduled to face Alex Oliveira (15-4-1) on the same card.
Borg trained at FIT-NHB throughout his professional career until leaving for cross-town rival Jackson-Wink MMA several months ago.
Through an intermediary, Borg said on Friday he had no comment on the lawsuit.
In the complaint, Vaughn says Wildbunch Management has a valid, threeyear contract with Borg and was entitled to 20 percent of his earnings from a scheduled September fight.
That fight was scrubbed because of an illness suffered by Borg, but Vaughn contends in the lawsuit that his former fighter still was paid $18,000 in “show money” and that Wildbunch Management is entitled to 20 percent.
In the lawsuit, Vaughn says his contract with Borg is for three years and went into effect shortly before Borg left FIT-NHB. Wildbunch Management, he contends, is entitled to 20 percent of Borg’s future earnings through August 2019 — beginning with Friday’s fight against Smolka.
“Ray Borg is in breach of his fighter contract with Wildbunch Mgmt llc, money is owed, and we intend to collect,” Vaughn told the Journal via email. “Ray can say whatever he wants but that’s why contracts are created.”
Borg’s fight Friday has been elevated to the main, pay-per-view portion of Friday’s card, headlined by a women’s bantamweight title fight between champion Amanda Nunes and former champion Ronda Rousey.
The Means-Oliveira fight will be available only on UFC Fight Pass, UFC’s digital streaming provider.
Vaughn said he’s not upset by that development.
“Tim is coming off two impressive KO wins, and his opponent (Oliveira) has two consecutive wins as well,” he said. “It’s a great match that people will tune in to see.”
As for Borg, Vaughn said, “Ray’s fight is an interesting one, too, and a fight he should win. Hope he does, so we double our money (from a win bonus).”
Borg, a flyweight (125 pounds), is 3-2 in UFC competition. He lost by split decision to Dustin Ortiz in his debut with the organization, then won three straight before losing by unanimous decision to Justin Scoggins last February.
UFC 206 REVISITED: A replay of UFC 206, a Dec. 10 card that featured sensational victories by three Jackson-Wink fighters, is scheduled for tonight at 7 on Fox.
On the card, Jackson-Wink featherweight Cub Swanson defeated South Korea’s Doo Ho Choi by unanimous decision in a fight being touted as a fight-ofthe-year candidate.
Welterweight Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, Swanson’s teammate, stopped Matt Brown with a spectacular head kick in the third round. Jackson-Wink lightweight Lando Vannata stopped John Makdessi with a spinning wheel kick in the first round.
Both Cerrone’s and Vannata’s finishes are considered candidates for knockout of the year. OVEREEM-HUNT: Jackson-Wink heavyweight Alistair Overeem has been matched against Mark Hunt on UFC 209, scheduled for March 4 at T-Mobile Arena.
Overeem (41-16) is coming off a firstround knockout loss in a UFC title fight against champion Stipe Miocic in September.
The Dutch fighter had earned the title shot by winning his previous four fights, including a second-round TKO of JacksonWink teammate Andrei Arlovski.
As reported earlier, Arlovski (25-13) is scheduled to face Frenchman Francis Ngannou (9-1) on UFC on Fox 23 in Denver Jan. 28. Ngannou is coming off a victory by first-round submission (kimura) over yet another Jackson-Wink heavyweight, Anthony Hamilton (15-6), on Dec. 9 in Albany, N.Y.