Mark
Hunt won’t be able to sue the
UFC, promotion CEO Dana White and Brock
Lesnar, per a ruling from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on
Tuesday.
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According to courthousenews.com, the Ninth Circuit upheld a
previous ruling from U.S. District Judge Jennifer Dorsey in
2023, when she determined that Hunt failed to prove that the
promotion and White booked him against Brock
Lesnar at UFC while knowing that his opponent was using
performance enhancing drugs. The Ninth Circuit took a slightly
different stance than Dorsey in its decision.
“Unfortunately, Hunt does not point to any evidence in the record
of any physical, emotional, economic, or reputational damage or
harm attributable to Defendants-Appellees’ conduct,” the
three-judge panel wrote in its ruling. “Indeed, while maintaining
that such evidence does in fact exist, Hunt acknowledged both in
his reply brief and at argument that evidence of damages has not
yet been ‘adequately presented.'”
White’s attorney declined to comment on the ruling, according to
the report.
Hunt initially
filed a civil lawsuit against the UFC, White and Lesnar in
Nevada District Court in 2017, alleging that the defendants “affirmatively circumvented and obstructed fair competition for
their own benefit.” It also accused the parties of racketeering and
fraud. The case was initially dismissed in 2019 but found new life
in appeals court in 2021. Dorsey concluded that Hunt did not meet
the evidentiary burden on his remaining claims of fraud, battery,
aiding-and-abetting battery and civil conspiracy.
“In sum, each of Hunt’s fraud theories requires far too many
inferential leaps and ignores too much contrary evidence for a jury
to reasonably find in his favor, particularly by clear and
convincing evidence,” Dorsey wrote in a 27-page opinion document in
2023.
Lesnar defeated Hunt via unanimous decision at UFC 200 in July
2016. It was revealed after the fact that the former heavyweight
champion tested positive for the anti-estrogen agent clomiphene in
both an in-competition and out-of-competition drug screening, and
the result was overturned to a no contest. Lesnar was eventually
suspended for one year and fined $250,000 for the failed drug
tests. However, Hunt was upset that Lesnar received the majority of
his purse and that his opponent was given an exemption from the
USADA policy that requires fighters to enter the drug testing pool
for a four-month period upon coming out of retirement.
After facing Lesnar, Hunt would compete five more times under the
UFC banner, posting a 1-4 record within the Las Vegas-based
promotion. His last appearance came at UFC Fight Night 142 on Dec.
1, 2018, when he dropped a unanimous decision against Justin
Willis.