Mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion UFC has been plunged into turmoil after a US district judge in Las Vegas denied a settlement that had been agreed between the promotion and plaintiffs in a class action antitrust suit against it.
Judge Richard Boulware to set a preliminary court date of October 28, but has yet to explain the reasoning behind his rejection of the settlement.
If the antitrust trial does go ahead and UFC is found guilty the organization could be liable for up to $1.6 billion in damages.
The lawsuits alleged Zuffa violated antitrust laws by paying UFC fighters significantly less than they were entitled to receive and maintaining a monopoly over the MMA market.
UFC agreed the initial settlement with the opposing parties, worth around $335 million, back in March in order to resolve two lawsuits brought against its previous owner and operator Zuffa by a collection of former fighters.
That settlement offer helped UFC to avoid going to trial at an initial April 15 court date, but the MMA promotion can still avoid another trial with the collection of fighters in the two lawsuits still open to a renegotiated settlement.
Published after the decision, the UFC made a statement of its disagreement with the ruling, saying: "It disregards the expertise of counsel from both sides, as well as that of an accomplished and expert mediator – all of whom have decades of experience in antitrust case law.
"[The ruling] prevents the athletes from receiving what they have argued is in their best interest and unwinds an extensively negotiated settlement that, in the plaintiffs’ counsel’s own words, ‘would far surpass the typical antitrust class action settlement’ and ‘is an excellent result for the Settlement Classes by all traditional measures.’
UFC continued: "By taking the unusual step of denying the settlement at this preliminary approval stage,
the Judge is also denying the athletes their right to be heard during this pivotal moment in the case."
UFC fighters Cung Le, Nate Quarry, and Jon Fitch filed their initial complaint against Zuffa in federal court in California in December 2014. It was subsequently joined by fighters Brandon Vera, Luis Javier Vazquez, and Kyle Kingsbury.
On June 23, 2021, Kajan Johnson and C.B. Dollaway filed a proposed class-action antitrust lawsuit against Zuffa and Endeavor with similar allegations that UFC engaged in illegal anti-competitive action.
In total, close to 2,000 fighters were represented by the lawsuits.
Stock in TKO Group, the UFC’s new parent company, fell by over four dollars per share after the revelations of the new court order came out, although it recovered within a matter of hours, indicating that while investor confidence was briefly shaken the TKO brand, which also includes professional wrestling giant WWE, remains strong.
TKO was formed out of the merger between UFC and the WWE promotion last year, led by international entertainment and sports giant Endeavor.
In another antitrust lawsuit, WWE in December settled a lawsuit brought by a rival accusing it of monopolizing the professional wrestling media market. It disclosed in a February securities filing that it paid $20 million to resolve the suit.
