CUNG LE VS ZUFFA IS OVER
LIVE FROM THE COURTHOUSE
AdvertisementJudge Boulware grants preliminary approval in the HISTORIC $375 million Le v ZUFFA antitrust lawsuit
BIG TIME BLOW LANDED BY UFC VETS
#ufc #mma pic.twitter.com/rROqcAN1hK— “Filthy” Tom Lawlor (@FilthyTomLawlor) October 22, 2024
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.
The Cung Le antitrust settlement is preliminarily APPROVED. Over the next year the #UFC will pay out approx $240-260 million to Zuffa fighters from Dec 2010 – June 2017.
The net number after fees was $260M in court but lawyer costs were unclear.
— Paul Gift (@MMAanalytics) October 22, 2024
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.
