UFC Strongly Disagrees With Judge’s Rejection of Antitrust Settlement; Plaintiffs ‘Keep Open Minds’

“We clearly disagree with this ruling and believe it disregards the expertise of the attorneys on both sides, as well as the experienced and seasoned mediator — all of whom have decades of experience in antitrust litigation.” It denies the athletes what they claimed was in their best interests and invalidates a broadly negotiated settlement that, in the words of the plaintiffs’ own counsel, “would have been significantly superior to a typical class action settlement in an antitrust case” and “is an excellent outcome for the settling classes by any traditional measure.” “Furthermore, by taking the unusual step of rejecting the settlement at this early stage of approval, the judge also denies the athletes the right to be heard at this crucial time in the case.” As we have said throughout the process, we believe strongly in the righteousness of our cases and are evaluating all of our options — including, without limitation, an appeal — and have begun discussions with the plaintiffs’ attorneys, who have expressed a desire to pursue the matter.“in separate settlement talks in the Le and Johnson cases.”

“Plaintiffs respect the Court’s ruling rejecting the proposed global solution Le AND Johnson cases and accordingly we will operate at full speed on all fronts in accordance with the Court’s guidelines. We are currently planning to accelerate preparations in Le for the upcoming hearing, and we will also start taking steps to obtain evidence Johnson. At the same time, in the interests of our clients and the classes, we are also open to re-engaging with UFC to see if the parties could reach a settlement that builds on the momentum achieved in the prior settlement, but works to address the concerns expressed by the Court regarding this resolution. “In particular, to eliminate several concerns expressed by the Court regarding the prior proposed consolidated settlement Le AND JohnsonThe plaintiffs believe that the best solution, if a new settlement becomes possible, would be to try to resolve both cases separately, with the first focus being on Le case, with the trial date approaching and using the progress made to date as a starting point for further discussions. “Accordingly, while Plaintiffs focus on preparing for trial, we remain open to a potential new resolution. At their core, Plaintiffs want nothing more and nothing less than justice for the professional MMA athletes we have represented for over a decade in the most efficient and effective manner possible.”