A number of familiar faces are set to testify on the
Ultimate Fighting Championship’s behalf in an upcoming
antitrust lawsuit against the promotion.
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According to a brief filed on Thursday in the U.S. District Court
for the District of Nevada, current lightweight standout Michael
Chandler as well as former stars Michael
Bisping and Chael Sonnen
are expected to be witnesses for the defendants. Former UFC women’s
bantamweight champion Miesha Tate
and UFC Hall of Famer Donald
Cerrone are also listed as witnesses for the UFC in the
brief.
The trial is expected to begin on April 15, though UFC parent
company Zuffa is reportedly attempting to push back the date due to
a scheduling conflict. Bloody Elbow was first to report information
revealed in the brief.
The class action lawsuit was i
initially filed in 2014 and alleges that the UFC engaged in a
scheme to “to acquire and maintain monopsony power in the market
for elite professional MMA fighter services” by purchasing rival
organizations and limiting earnings by binding fighters to
exclusive contracts. The listed plaintiffs are ex-UFC fighters
Cung Le,
Nathan Quarry, Jon Fitch,
Brandon
Vera, Javier
Vazquez and Kyle
Kingsbury, but because it is a class action lawsuit, any
fighter competing between Dec. 16, 2010 and June 30, 2017 would be
eligible for compensation if the plaintiffs win the case or a
settlement is reached. No eligible fighters — including those
called as witnesses for the UFC — have opted out of the
lawsuit.
The plaintiffs are seeking damages between $894 million and $1.6
billion.
A number of prominent managers are also expected to testify on
behalf of the UFC including: Dominance MMA head Ali Abdelaziz,
Iridium Sports Agency’s Jason House, Josh Jones, American Top Team
owner Dan Lambert and Ed Soares.
Current or former UFC employees who might be called to testify
include UFC CEO Dana White, former Zuffa co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta,
UFC regulatory affairs head Marc Ratner, UFC chief operating
officer Lawrence Epstein and matchmakers Joe Silva, Sean Shelby and
Mick Maynard.
In its trial brief, the UFC has claimed the lawsuit is an “attack
on success” and denies having monopsony power.