The UFC has reached a proposed nine-figure agreement to settle multiple antitrust lawsuits involving former fighters. The settlement will see the company pay out $335 million to those involved, including more than 1,200 former UFC athletes.
An agreement was announced Wednesday after being originally reached last week according to a disclosure filed by the UFC’s parent company, TKO Group Holdings Inc., to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The lawsuits were filed by Cung Le in 2014 (Le et al. v. Zuffa, LLC), which was later consolidated with other similar lawsuits, and Canadian fighter Kajan Johnson who filed a separate lawsuit (Johnson et al. v. Zuffa, LLC) in 2021.
Representatives from the initial class action lawsuit claimed “the 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. The fighters also claim that the UFC violated the antitrust laws to the detriment of all MMA fighters.”
Former UFC title contenders Nate Quarry and Jon Fitch were also among the notable fighters involved in the suit that also wanted to see systemic changes to UFC contracts.
The Mixed Martial Arts Fighters Association released a brief statement Wednesday afternoon reacting to the news that read: “We are pleased with the settlement and will disclose more when we file with the Court in 45-60 days.”
“On March 13, 2024, TKO reached an agreement to settle all claims asserted in both class action lawsuits (Le and Johnson) for an aggregate amount of $335 million payable by the Company and its subsidiaries in installments over an agreed-upon period of time,” the disclosure read. “The terms will be memorialized in a long form agreement and then submitted to the court for approval. The Company anticipates that the settlement amount will be deductible for tax purposes.”
The case was originally scheduled to go to court in mid April after the lawsuit was certified in the summer of 2023. The Le et al. v. Zuffa, LLC lawsuit had estimated damages up to $1.6 billion but a specific number would’ve been determined had it gone to trial.
The proposed settlement still requires a judge to approve it.
It is unclear how this settlement agreement might affect the sport and its athletes in the future and what, if any, changes will be made to fighter contracts and other related details going forward once everything is approved.
Fight fans and pundits quickly pointed out TKO’s stock price made a noticeable jump within minutes of the settlement news breaking.
UFC president Dana White told Sportsnet’s Aaron Bronsteter back in January he gave “literally zero” thought to whether the lawsuits would go to trial, adding: “I never think about it ever. It has nothing to do with me.”
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