Judge Approves $375 Million Settlement in UFC Antitrust Lawsuit

By Martial Arts Videos October 23, 2024
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A Nevada judge has temporarily approved a settlement agreement in
the UFC antitrust lawsuit.

On Tuesday, Judge Richard Boulware approved a settlement plan where
the UFC agreed to pay $375 million to the plaintiffs to settle the
lawsuit, which was
initially filed in 2014 by a group of fighters that included
the likes of Cung Le and
Nate
Quarry. The UFC’s former parent company, Zuffa, was initially
accused of engaging in a scheme “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.

According to Paul Gift, approximately $240 to $260 million will be
paid to qualifying fighters — those who fought in the UFC from
December 2010 to June 2017 — over the course of the next year.
Earlier this year, the parties had agreed to a $335 million
settlement, but Judge Boulware rejected it primarily because it
combined two separate cases into one agreement. The other class,
led by Kajan
Johnson, represents fighters who competed in the UFC from 2017
to the present. Based on the initial settlement agreement, the Le
class would have received a much larger percentage of the
settlement, while the Johnson class would receive significantly
less. The second antitrust lawsuit is still ongoing, though its
possible a settlement agreement could be reached in that case, as
well.

MMAFighting.com obtained a statement from
attorneys representing the fighters in the first antitrust lawsuit
that provided a financial breakdown of the settlement
agreement:

The $375 million all cash recovery provides a swift and
significant payment to the Class against the delay, costs, and
risks of a trial and appeals. As discussed above, Plaintiffs had
initially proposed to allocate 75% of the Prior Settlement to the
Le Class (75% of $335 million is $251.25 million), and thus this
Settlement would increase the amount going to the Le Class by
$123.75 million. Plaintiffs subsequently proposed to allocate 90%
of the Prior Settlement to the Le Class (90% of $335 million is
$301.5 million), and in that light, this Settlement involves $73.5
million more for the Le Class.

“Under the Settlement, Le Class members would recover (on average),
after all fees and costs are deducted, $250,000. Thirty-five Class
members would net over $1 million; nearly 100 fighters would net
over $500,000; more than 200 fighters would recover over $250,000;
over 500 fighters would net in excess of $100,000; and nearly 800
would recover over $50,000. By any reasonable measure, the
Settlement, if approved, would put “life changing” cash into the
hands of the families of several hundred fighters now.”

More than 100 former UFC fighters wrote letters of support for the
settlement, with some detailing financial, mental and physical
difficulties they endured as a result of a career with the Las
Vegas-based promotion. Those statements reportedly played a
significant role in Judge Boulware’s ruling.

Eric Cramer, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs, released a
statement regarding Judge Boulware’s decision.

“We are extremely pleased that Judge Boulware granted preliminary
approval of the $375 million settlement of the Le v. Zuffa case,”
Cramer stated. “It is a monumental achievement that will get
significant relief to hundreds of deserving MMA fighters. We honor
our brave representative plaintiffs who fought for this result for
ten years. And we look forward to pursuing significant business
changes and more damages in our second antitrust case against the
UFC.”

Meanwhile, a UFC spokesperson also issued a statement to
MMAFighting regarding the settlement agreement.

“Today’s decision is welcome news for both parties,” the statement
read. “We are pleased to be another step closer to bringing the Le
case to a close.”

A hearing for final approval is expected to be held at a later
date.

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