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White sees WAMMA as one of several organizations "coming out of the woodwork to make a buck out of this thing," and worries that it will breed other sanctioning bodies.
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"Maybe there's other organizations that want to use (WAMMA)," White said. "We'll never be involved."
IFL chief executive Jay Larkin said he has no problem cross-promoting - his organization is already working with Mark Cuban's HDNet Fights -- but can't see how the UFC has anything to gain from an overarching sanctioning body.
"That to me, in this moment, appears to be the fatal flaw," Larkin said.
Szady and WAMMA founding partner Michael Lynch understand what they're up against. They say their goal isn't to take money from the promoters, but to generate revenue from a sponsored title belt given to a single champion in each weight class.
And while they realize the UFC and other organizations are reticent to join, their hope is that fans will begin to demand fights that promoters can't deliver by themselves.
"At least they didn't throw us on the curb" after a meeting, Lynch said of the UFC.
A few years back, people were clamoring for PRIDE champion Wanderlei Silva to fight UFC champion Chuck Liddell. That fight will finally happen on Dec. 29, but only after the UFC bought out the Japanese promotion. Both fighters are coming off losses and the matchup has lost much of its luster.
"Fans will want to see matchups (the UFC) can't make," said Andrew Simon, CEO of HDNet Fights, who added that his organization is reluctant to join the alliance as well. "(But) I don't know that WAMMA solves that, either, if Dana doesn't want to be a part of it."
WAMMA does pack plenty of name recognition, with several notable figures from boxing coming on board to help avoid the problems that spoiled their sport.
Its medical advisory board is headed by renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews, and its legal counsel is Fred Levin, who worked for years with former boxing champion Roy Jones Jr. Others involved include boxing promoter Godwin Asifo and Kay Stephenson, former coach of the Buffalo Bills.
The inclusion of Andrews, who has worked for years with athletes from more mainstream sports like Major League Baseball, comes at a time when safety and unified rules are once again a major issue in the sport.
Sam Vasquez of Houston was injured at a Renegades Extreme Fighting show in Houston on Oct. 20 and died about six weeks later. The 35-year-old's death is believed to be the first linked to a sanctioned mixed martial arts bout.
WAMMA will release its first rankings on Monday and will include fighters from all organizations, even those that want no part of it. The alliance hopes to schedule its first world championship bout in mid-2008, and eventually help put together 20-25 title fights a year.
"This has nothing to do with interfering with the financial stream of the UFC or any of the promoters," said Szady, stressing that each organization will remain autonomous and that WAMMA will have no part in promoting fights.
Rather, it is a concerted effort to prevent mixed martial arts from fracturing, alienating its fans and finding itself with the same tarnished image as boxing.
"I think there's other potential there," Szady continued, "and what I really believe is that if the UFC maintains the sport the way it is, I don't know how long it will remain popular."
