After a decade of litigation and court appearances, a settlement has been reached for the first UFC antitrust lawsuit.
Judge Bouleware reached the settlement agreement on Tuesday, and the plaintiffs are required to pay a $375 million settlement. The lawsuit was first filed in 2014 by fighter Cung Le, Nate Quarry, and others. The suit argued that the UFC engaged “in a scheme to acquire and maintain monopsony power in the market for elite professional MMA fighter services.” The suit also said the UFC achieved these goals through exclusive contracts, coercion, and acquisitions.
The promotion was accused of suppressing fighter wages from 2010 to 2017. Both sides of the cases had earlier agreed on a $335 million settlement in March, but Judge Richard Franklin Boulware II rejected it. The judge claims the settlement payout was too favourable for the UFC. He also stated that the fighters in the second lawsuit could object to arbitration and class action waiver clauses in existing contracts.
Although another trial date was set, both parties were intent on settling the issue outside of court and finally agreed on the sum of $375 million. Both attorneys submitted a brief to the court detailing the financial breakdown of the settlement.
“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, the Plaintiffs had initially proposed to allocate 75% of the Prior Settlement to the Le Class (75% of $335 million is $251.25 million). 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). 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.”
The fighters provided 150 statements supporting the settlement’s approval. Fortunately, the settlement has finally been approved by the judge. The UFC is making plans and setting up channels for disbursement. The lead attorney for the plaintiff, Eric Cramer, released a statement after the lawsuit’s approval.
“We are extremely pleased that Judge Boulware granted preliminary approval of the $375 million settlement of the Le v. Zuffa case. It is a monumental achievement that will provide significant relief to hundreds of deserving MMA fighters. We honour 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.”
A representative from the UFC also issued a statement regarding the judge’s decision.
“Today’s decision is welcome news for both parties. We are pleased to be another step closer to bringing the Le case to a close.”
Although the first lawsuit has been settled, the fight is not over. UFC is still in court defending itself against the second antitrust lawsuit. There has been no news yet, but attorneys representing the UFC filed for a dismissal on October 7th. The judge did not rule in their favour, but there is a likelihood that a settlement agreement will be reached before a trial.
