UFC Antitrust Lawsuit – Judge grants class-action status

UFC Antitrust Lawsuit – Judge grants class-action status

The plaintiffs in the 6-year ongoing antitrust lawsuit against the UFC, have pulled off a much needed victory. The lawsuit was filed first in 2014, when a group of fighters, notably Brandon Vera, Nathan Quarry, Kyle Kingsbury, Cung Le accused the UFC of suppressing other fight promotion companies, in order to clamp down on the wages of the fighters. They are seeking damages between 800 million USD to 1.6 billion USD from the UFC.

The class certification for the plaintiffs was granted by Judge Richard Boulware of the United States District Court in Nevada, via. a conference call, on Thursday. Although the UFC are set to appeal Judge Boulware’s decision, a delighted Cung Le said, [via MMA Fighters Association], “For too long, the UFC has taken advantage of fighters by monopolizing the industry, and cheated fighters out of millions of dollars each year. Today’s decision by Judge Boulware means our case can proceed for all UFC fighters that are part of the class.”

“I can’t convey how big this is for the sport of MMA” – Nathan Quarry

An ecstatic Nathan Quarry tweeted, “I can’t convey how big this is for the sport of MMA. Thank you to our whole team that’s been working on this for over five years and to the other plaintiffs I’m honored to stand beside. We’re one step closer to fighters having a seat at the table. #FreeMarket #Capitalism“

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He further clarified what the fuss was all about tweeting, “For the layman: “Boxers are protected from promoters by the Ali Act. In MMA we keep most of the money, manipulate the rankings and require long term contracts for title shots.” Hence the UFC CLASS ACTION lawsuit and the Ali Expansion Act that will change all that.“

“A great breakdown of our, now certified, class action lawsuit against the UFC. Combine this with the Ali Expansion Act and for the first time in MMA the FIGHTERS will have a say in their careers and test the free market. #supernecessary.”

Tearing further into the UFC, Quarry tweeted, “Just to throw some more gas on the fire, this is a promoter worth upwards of a billion dollars and his promotion keeps around 85% of every dollar generated. He won’t get into boxing because he’d have to pay boxers fair market value and his take would drop to closer to 15%.“

Whose side are you on? Can the UFC come out of this rut?

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