After ten years of court maneuvering, an inability to get injunctive relief without restarting everything pushed fighters to accept a $335 million payout from UFC.
Fans of the sport were shocked yesterday (Wed. March 20, 2024) when it was announced that both major UFC anti-trust lawsuits would no longer go to trial. Instead of a trial in mid-April, the plaintiffs accepted a $335 million settlement from the promotion.
That’s a far cry from the billion plus dollars the lawsuit could have paid out if a jury had decided they agreed with former UFC fighters that the promotion had used anti-competitive practices to underpay them for years. It seems they had the judge on their side.
In his class certification filing, Judge Boulware noted “the UFC used a variety of ruthless coercive techniques to prevent fighters from becoming free agents—rendering these contracts effectively perpetual.”
So what gives? Why fight since 2014 only to tap out weeks away from the start of trial? Nate Quarry, UFC fighter circa 2005-2010 and one of the original plaintiffs, explained the situation on social media.
“Right now there’s a lot I can’t say,” he wrote. “With that, moving forward this way seemed to be the best option.”
“No, we didn’t get everything we wanted,” he admitted. “Our goal all along was to change the sport. However, we had quite a few delays that we had to deal with. And to get injunctive relief, ie. change the sport, we would have had to refile both lawsuits and combine them, go through discovery all over again, retake depositions, about a five year delay and then hope we get granted class action status again.”
We’d be looking at another ten years just to be where we are today with no guarantee of winning any punitive amount of injunctive change. As I said, weighing all the possible outcomes this seemed the best outcome. We’re not hi-fiving one another. But we are pleased that a lot of fighters are going to be getting some compensation for being underpaid. Wish we could’ve done more.”
This largely dashes the hopes of fans who were holding on to the idea that the settlement might include something to fundamentally change the way fighters are used and abused by MMA promoters. A two-year contract limit would have opened up the free agent landscape and make the industry more competitive. Now it seems clear that fighters will receive nothing more substantial than a one-time payout.
“It’s very easy to sit in the cheap seats and criticize,” Quarry noted at the end of his statement. “Once you step into the ring, once you taste your own blood, your whole world changes and you’re a little more understanding of those who attempt greatness. Even when they fall short.”
“And for those that have cheering us on, thank you for your support. I can’t say much more than that. Thank you. We didn’t get all that we wanted but we will be able to help some guys that are hurting now.”