Tag: Antitrust Lawsuit

UFC could be headed to trial as judge leans toward rejecting promotion’s $335 million class action settlement

UFC could be headed to trial as judge leans toward rejecting promotion's $335 million class action settlementThe UFC’s antitrust suit settlement has hit a speedbump. In March, Ultimate Fighting Championship’s parent company, TKO Group Holdings,…

UFC could be headed to trial as judge leans toward rejecting promotion's $335 million class action settlement

The UFC’s antitrust suit settlement has hit a speedbump.

In March, Ultimate Fighting Championship’s parent company, TKO Group Holdings, agreed to pay $335 million to settle a pair of class-action lawsuits from more than 1,200 former fighters who accused the promotion of violating antitrust laws and suppressing wages.

dana white ufc 282 press conference

Originally, the case was set to go to trial in April with the promotion potentially paying out as much as $1.6 billion in damages.

“We are pleased to have reached an agreement to settle all claims asserted in both the [Cung] Le and [Kajan] Johnson class action lawsuits, bringing litigation to a close and benefiting all parties,” a UFC spokesman said in a statement to ESPN. “The final terms of the settlement will be submitted to the court for approval.”

However, a trial may still be in the UFC’s future after Judge Richard F. Boulware expressed concerns over the agreement a few weeks back and opted to push the settlement hearing to July 12.

Returning to the courtroom on Friday, Boulware once again exhibited serious concerns over the deal. Per a series of posts from reporter Josh Gross on X who was in the courtroom, Boulware revealed that he would deliver his ruling next week, but all signs seem to point toward the settlement being rejected.

If that happens, the UFC will have two options: 1) go back to the negotiating table and pony up more dough or 2) prepare for a trial by jury.

Check Out Josh Gross’ thread on the UFC Antitrust Settlement Hearing below:

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UFC
UFC
UFC

UFC parent company TKO Group will pay $335 million to settle antitrust lawsuit over fighter pay

UFC parent company TKO Group to pay $335 million to settle antitrust lawsuit over fighter payTKO Group Holdings, the parent company of the UFC, has agreed to pay $335 million to settle a decade-old…

UFC parent company TKO Group to pay $335 million to settle antitrust lawsuit over fighter pay

TKO Group Holdings, the parent company of the UFC, has agreed to pay $335 million to settle a decade-old lawsuit filed by fighters who accused the promotion of violating antitrust laws.

Between December 2014 and March 2015, five individual lawsuits were filed with fighters claiming that the UFC violated the Sherman Antitrust Act. Those suits were then consolidated into a single case with the chief complaint being that the promotion had abused its monopoly power to limit fighters’ pay.

UFC settlement in antitrust suit

UFC fighters Cung Le, Nate Quarry, and Jon Fitch filed the initial complaint with Brandon Vera, Luis Javier Vazquez, and Kyle Kingsbury later joining them. In all, 1,200 fighters were being represented in the suit.

After being granted class certification in August, a trial date was set for April 15 with the UFC facing damages up to $1.6 billion. Instead, the UFC will avoid a costly trial with the $335 settlement which will be payable in installments over a period of time.

“The terms will be memorialized in a long-form agreement and then submitted to the court for approval,” TKO said in a statement, adding that it anticipates the settlement amount will be deductible for tax purposes. The company noted that a judge must sign off on the agreement before it becomes official.

The UFC’s Parent Company isn’t out of the woods yet

Once news of the settlement broke, shares in TKO jumped up by 7%. However, TKO’s headaches are far from over. After merging the UFC and World Wrestling Entertainment under the TKO Group banner last year, the company has seen a slew of legal issues come its way.

TKO merges UFC and WWE

Most recently, a lawsuit was filed against WWE founder and former TKO Group chairman Vince McMahon who was accused of sexually abusing and trafficking a former employee of the pro wrestling empire. McMahon resigned from his position with the company shortly after.

Vince McMahon with Ari Emanuel

In November 2023, TKO shareholders reportedly filed a class action suit claiming that the $21 billion merger of the UFC and WWE was the result of a “sham sales process.”

Multiple UFC fighters, including Michael Chandler and Miesha Tate, barred from testifying during antitrust trial

UFCOn Monday, a pre-trial conference for the UFC’s upcoming antitrust trial was held in Las Vegas Federal Court. Per…

UFC

On Monday, a pre-trial conference for the UFC’s upcoming antitrust trial was held in Las Vegas Federal Court.

Per a report from Forbes, Judge Richard Boulware worked his way through a slew of motions addressing situations that could arise at trial where one side doesn’t want the jury exposed to certain materials. The biggest question of the day would be whether the Las Vegas-based promotion would be allowed to call 13 handpicked witnesses, including five fighters, five managers, and three of its own employees, to testify in front of the jury.

Among them was a mix of current and former fighters, including Michael Bisping, Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone, Michael Chandler, Chael Sonnen, and Miesha Tate who were to share their experiences and promotional interactions with the jury. However, the plaintiff’s attorney, Eric Cramer, successfully argued that it would be “trial by ambush,” claiming the UFC never properly disclosed the 13 witnesses. “For most of these 13, we have no depositions and no documents,” he noted.

The UFC argued that plaintiffs made the fighters “known” by asking about or requesting documents related to them during the discovery process.

Boulware sided with the plaintiff, announcing that the 13 UFC witnesses are officially excluded from the upcoming trial. He also excluded any evidence past the end of the class period in June 2017 but will allow evidence before the start of the class period in December 2010.

The UFC could be on the hook for $1.6 billion

In August, the longstanding antitrust suit was granted class certification with over 1,200 fighters effectively suing the world’s largest MMA promoter. Among the named plaintiffs are former UFC fighters Cung Le, Jon Fitch, Brandon Vera, Kyle Kingsbury, and Javier Vazquez. All are expected to testify when the trial begins in April.

The suit alleges that the UFC is an illegal monopoly or monopsony and has snuffed out competition from other MMA promotions to drive down fighters’ wages. If found guilty, the UFC could be on the hook for anywhere from $800 million to $1.6 billion.

Dana White Insists the UFC’s Pending Antitrust Lawsuit Has ‘Nothing to Do’ with Him: ‘Literally Zero’

Dana WhiteUFC CEO Dana White insists that he has nothing to do with the impending antitrust lawsuit the promotion is…

Dana White

UFC CEO Dana White insists that he has nothing to do with the impending antitrust lawsuit the promotion is facing.

In December 2014, a group of current and former MMA fighters, including Cung Le, Nathan Quarry, Jon Fitch, and Brandon Vera, filed a Class Action lawsuit against the Ultimate Fighting Championship and its parent company Zuffa, LLC. The claim is that the UFC used improper strategies to dominate the market, allowing it to pay its fighters significantly less than what they would have otherwise earned. The fighters also claim that the UFC violated the antitrust laws to the detriment of all mixed martial artists.

A plethora of information has come out in the last several months due in large part to the exquisite work of Bloody Elbow’s Anton Tabuena, but according to Dana White, he has “literally zero” concerns regarding the trial which is slated to start on April 8.

“No. Literally zero,” White told Aaron Bronsteter. “I never think about it, ever. It has nothing to do with me.”

Dana White and the UFC Could be on the hook for $1.6 Billion in Damages

In August, Federal judge Richard F. Boulware granted the plaintiffs class certification, meaning that the almost 1,200 fighters involved in the suit can sue the UFC as a collective for alleged unfair business practices.

“Thrilled to announce that the court in the UFC case has certified the class of MMA fighters,” one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys, Eric Cramer, wrote on X. “We look forward to demonstrating our allegations that the UFC has abused its market power to suppress fighter pay before a jury in Las Vegas. The fight for fighter justice continues! (h/t ESPN).

The case still has a long way to go, potentially years. But without class certification, it was likely dead in the water.

The plaintiffs are seeking between $800 million and $1.6 billion in damages from the UFC.

UFC Anti-Trust Lawsuit Could Pay Fighters Massive Windfall

The ongoing anti-trust lawsuit against the UFC appears to be gaining traction, and fighters could receive a massive windfall of money for damages if the lawsuit were to pass. MMA journalist John Nash tweeted about his discoveries regarding the anti-trust lawsuit, and any fighter who fought in the UFC since 2010 will be entitled to […]

The post UFC Anti-Trust Lawsuit Could Pay Fighters Massive Windfall appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

The ongoing anti-trust lawsuit against the UFC appears to be gaining traction, and fighters could receive a massive windfall of money for damages if the lawsuit were to pass.

MMA journalist John Nash tweeted about his discoveries regarding the anti-trust lawsuit, and any fighter who fought in the UFC since 2010 will be entitled to a part of the proposed $1.6 billion settlement:

The UFC’s huge sale last year for over $4 billion will likely work against them here, as the massive settlement could be viewed as coverable by the deep pockets of new owners WME-IMG.

For comparison, Nash says former UFC competitor Strikeforce paid their fighters 63 percent of their overall revenue. Meanwhile, economist Andrew Zimbalist denies the authenticity of the UFC’s claim of fighter/revenue numbers:

A group of fighters led by former UFC title contender Jon Fitch banded together in 2010 in an effort to create a fighters’ union. Fitch says any fighter who competed for the UFC between December 2010 to December 2014 are entitled to payouts unless they choose to opt out.

Economists actually place the money owed to said fighters could be three times as much as the $1.6 billion figure.

How do you see this lawsuit playing out? Will the fighters ever receive money due them?

The post UFC Anti-Trust Lawsuit Could Pay Fighters Massive Windfall appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.