A group of five UFC fighters and former Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney today announced the formation of the MMA Athletes Association, which seeks to organize fighters with the aim of getting better treatment from the industry-leader.

Former UFC champs Georges St-Pierre, Cain Velasquez and T.J. Dillashaw joined UFC standouts Donald Cerrone and Tim Kennedy with Rebney to denounce the WME-IMG led promotion’s treatment of fighters and demand greater protections for those that fight in the octagon.

The association will be run entirely by fighters, according to Kennedy, with Rebney telling MMAjunkie that he will serve in an advisor-only role.

“We’re here to make sure that no fighter in the UFC gets left behind,” said the UFC middleweight, who’s also a special forces sniper and Army Ranger in addition to his work in the cage. “The fighters are running this association. Period. End of story.”

St-Pierre, who this past month declared himself free of the UFC after a contract impasse on a return to the promotion, said stars like Conor McGregor deserve a bigger share of profits. He stepped forward in spite of expecting to be cast as a “villain” opposite the company, which has disputed his free agent claim.

“I want the situation to be rectified and I want to be happy on both sides,” St-Pierre said.

Cerrone, scheduled alongside teammate Kennedy to fight at next month’s UFC 206, came to the effort despite fear of retaliation, a theme that echoed for several fighters given the association’s adversarial stance.

“What’s going to happen, I have no (expletive) idea,” he said. “But let’s run it until the goddamn wheels come off.”

Although four of the five fighters are repped by agent Mike Fonseca at Creative Artists Agency, a known adversary of WME-IMG, Rebney said the agency is not backing the association and is merely “supportive of the athletes.”

Over a two-hour-plus call, the former Bellator CEO specifically decried the treatment of fighters by the UFC’s new ownership group led by entertainment powerhouse WME-IG. Although he was purposely short on specifics about the organization – a tactic to avoid revealing too much of the MMAAA’s strategy to the UFC – he outlined several goals for the organization, which include a 50 percent share of revenue, up from a claimed 8 percent; a collective bargaining agreement with a benefits package comparable to other major sporting leagues; and a “settlement” to current and former UFC fighters to compensate for lost income.

Rebney said for now, the association is aimed only at fighters competing in the UFC, leaving out other promotions such as the Viacom-owned Bellator. He said members could exercise their power by acting collectively to force changes in the way the industry-leader does business and suggested the possibility of strikes to meet demands.

Rebney said an association was the best possible way of combating the UFC, stating a union would delay the process of creating better conditions for four or five years and likely lead to a victory for the promotion in court.

The former Bellator CEO said he hasn’t reached out to the UFC about the association because “there’s no reason to,” but said after implementing the MMAAA’s strategies, “I’m quite comfortable our phone will ring.”

Asked for comment on the new organization, the industry-leader released a statement that was far less combative.

“We respect all of our athletes and are always open and willing to hear their thoughts on how to improve the sport,” it read.

For more on this story and additional details on the association, check back with MMAjunkie.

Other apps just deliver sports. The USA TODAY Sportswire app lets you pick specific team sites to get only the news that you want to know.

newsletter Get 10 hot stories each day Thanks for signing up.

Please check your email for a confirmation. Thanks for signing up.

Please check your email for a confirmation.