UFC parent company agrees to $375 million settlement in class action lawsuit brought by former fighters

CNN
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The parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has agreed to pay $375 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging anti-competitive practices against its fighters, according to court filings obtained by CNN.

The settlement was disclosed in a filing filed by TKO – UFC’s parent company – with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and will “satisfy all claims” totaling $375 million, subject to approval by U.S. District Judge Richard Boulware in Las Vegas.

The proposed settlement has not yet gone to court, and the detailed terms of the agreement, including whether the company admitted or denied committing the crime, are not yet public.

The plaintiffs in Le v. Zuffa alleged that the UFC used its position as the dominant force in mixed martial arts (MMA) to reduce the chance of its fighters accepting offers from other promoters, and alleged that the UFC “artificially suppressed compensation” for fighters through a “series of exclusionary and anti-competitive acts.

According to a press release from law firm Berger Montague, the lawsuit was originally filed in December 2014 by retired fighter Cung Le – along with Nate Quarry, Jon Fitch and others – and involved athletes who fought for the UFC between December 2010 and December 2010. until June 2017, representing the plaintiffs. Last year, Boulware granted class-action status to fighters who fought in the United States for the UFC during that period.

The UFC filed a motion to dismiss the case in 2015, but the court denied it.

UFC and the plaintiffs initially agreed to a $335 million settlement covering the case and a second, separate lawsuit, but Boulware was dropped because of how the funds would be distributed among the plaintiffs, according to Reuters.

“We have reached an amended agreement with Plaintiffs to resolve the Le case on terms that we believe address Judge Boulware’s concerns,” UFC said in a statement to CNN.

“While we believe the original settlement was fair – a view also shared by the plaintiffs – we believe it is in the best interests of all parties to end the dispute.”

The nine-figure settlement is exclusive to Le v. Zuffa, with a second lawsuit, Johnson v. Zuffa, still pending against the world’s leading MMA promotion.
The case is still in its “early stages” and a motion to dismiss is “pending,” according to a UFC statement.

“We believe the new proposed settlement for Le is an excellent outcome for the class of UFC fighters we represent,” Berger Montague said in a statement to CNN. “If approved, it will provide immediate financial assistance to over 1,000 fighters, each of whom will recover a significant improvement over what they earned in the UFC during their boxing careers.

“We look forward to submitting the proposed settlement to the Court for preliminary approval in the near future. We also plan to vigorously pursue claims on behalf of the fighter class in the subsequently filed Johnson case, including claims for injunctive relief against the UFC.”

Johnson’s case – brought by former UFC fighters Kajan Johnson and CB Dollaway – is similar to Le’s lawsuit and alleges that the company “violated antitrust laws by paying UFC fighters significantly less than they were entitled to and by eliminating or harming other MMA promoters . ”