3/21/24: UFC Reaches Settlement In Antitrust Lawsuits

Pending judge approval, UFC will avoid heading to trial next month

Mar 21, 2024

Welcome to a Thursday edition of the Knockdown Daily. Just one major story emerged from the MMA world yesterday, meaning that today’s issue won’t be a long one. Usually when just one story breaks, I will give the newsletter a day off and include the article in the next issue. However, the news that came out yesterday is so huge that it simply must be covered today, not tomorrow.

This is a smaller issue than usual, but the main story is a big one. I’ve written a report for today’s newsletter and also directed you toward extra resources for analysis and takeaways. Today’s newsletter is simply a quick report, but we’ll be revisiting this topic in later issues by looking it at different angles as well. Let’s begin.

UFC Reaches $335 Million Settlement In Antitrust Lawsuits

UFC has reached a settlement that could eliminate a pair of class action antitrust lawsuits, one of which was set to begin trial in just weeks.

$335 million will be paid in a settlement agreement for two different class action cases, per a TKO Group Holdings filing recently submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The agreement—pending approval from a judge—ends an antitrust case that has been in development for a decade. “Le v. Zuffa” was seeking damages of $894 million to $1.6 billion for the 1,200 fighters who competed in the UFC from December 2010 to June 2017. The case, which was scheduled to begin in Nevada next month, argued that “UFC used improper strategies to dominate the market for MMA fighter services, allowing it to pay its MMA fighters less than half as much as they otherwise would have received.”

It also resolves a less developed case, “Johnson v. Zuffa,” which represented fighters from 2017 and on. The newer of the two lawsuits was in a much earlier stage and had yet to receive class action certification.

Full details on the settlement have not been disclosed. It’s unclear how much money will go to either case, how much will be available for fighters after lawyer fees are deducted, and arguably most importantly it isn’t known if other non-financial terms were agreed to by the UFC.

A large focus in the “Le v. Zuffa” case was how UFC could be forced to change its practices to stop fighters from being underpaid. “Another goal [of the lawsuit] is to force the UFC to change the way it does business,” an official page from the “Le v. Zuffa” class action team wrote. These changes, while not known or guaranteed at the moment, could be disclosed at a later date.

The settlement allows UFC to potentially avoid the further scrutiny they would likely be subject to in an upcoming trial. The top MMA promotion has already been under analysis in the press after details from the discovery phase of the lawsuit emerged publicly.

A report from MMA Fighting covered a study commissioned by the UFC showed that the promotion severely underpaid its fighters in comparison to major sports leagues. Bloody Elbow reported on the specifics of contracts from top stars and uncovered how executives in the company had celebrated business tactics that suppressed fighters from pursuing opportunities within the sport.

While an agreement has been announced by TKO, the publicly traded company that represents both UFC and WWE, the settlement still must be approved by Nevada District Judge Richard Boulware. Lawyer and Combat Sports Law writer Erik Magraken explained the Judge approval process when he appeared on Pollock & Thurston this week:

“To over-simply it, what the court’s looking for is if it’s an adequate settlement,” he said. “So, whether this money and whatever else has been agreed to adequately represents the interests of the 1,200 fighters in the Le class action.”

Both the UFC and the group representing fighters in “Le v. Zuffa” spoke positively about the settlement on Wednesday.

“We are pleased to have reached an agreement to settle all claims asserted in both the Le and Johnson class action lawsuits, bringing litigation to a close and benefiting all parties,” UFC told MMA Fighting in a statement. “The final terms of the settlement will be submitted to the court for approval.”

The Mixed Martial Arts Fighter Association echoed a similar sentiment in a recent social media post: “We are pleased with the settlement and will disclose more when we file with the court in 45-60 days.”

Some who have supported the case going to trial expressed disappointment by the news of a settlement this week. Lawyer Jason Cruz explained that a settlement is often reached in a case to avoid the uncertainty of a jury trial. “Even if evidence would favor one party or another, the jury could come back with a verdict entirely different,” he wrote on MMA Payout this week.

The stock market reacted strongly to the settlement news. Shares for TKO jumped up nearly eight percent on Wednesday, making it one of the largest one-day gains in value for the stock since it went public last September.

Notes On: UFC, ONE Championship, KSW & Cage Warriors

Today marks the release of “Road House,” a remake of a 1989 cult classic film. The movie, which sees Jake Gyllenhaal play a former UFC fighter in the lead character, also includes former UFC Champion Conor McGregor play a villain role. The movie can be seen on Amazon Prime Video.
Heavyweight Ben Tynan (5-0) will look for his second ONE Championship win when he faces Duke Didier (8-2) at the promotion’s April 5th card in Bangkok, Thailand. Former LFA talent Tynan won his ONE Championship debut last November, submitting Kang Ji Won with an arm triangle choke. Didier lost his first appearance with the promotion back in 2022, dropping a split decision to Zhasur Mirzamukhamedov.
Aymard Guih (17-13-1) has received a change in opponent for KSW 93 on April 6th. While he was originally booked to face Sebastian Rajewski (12-9), he is now being matched up against Francisco Barrio (12-3). Rajewski departed the fight due to illness, per a recent announcement. Barrio has earned two wins since his last KSW fight, submitting two opponents in Croatia-based promotion FNC. Guih is making his promotional debut after winning a welterweight title in Hexagone MMA.
A pair of lightweight bouts have been added to Cage Warriors 171 from Glasgow, Scotland on April 20th.
- Fighting to bounce back from his first loss in years, Jan Quaeyhaegens (11-5) will face promotional newcomer Konstantinos Ntelis (8-2). Quaeyhaegens had a five-fight winning streak snapped last October, getting stopped in the first round by former interim champ Paul Hughes.
- Undefeated Ieuan Davies (4-0) and rising Wales fighter Tommy Hawthorn (5-1) have been matched up as well. Davies has finished all four of his wins in the first round, including a pair of appearances in Cage Warriors last year. Hawthorn similarly has finished all of his wins. He will be making his Cage Warriors debut in the upcoming appearance.

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