BREAKING! UFC Antitrust lawsuit settled before trial date; Dana White’s company agrees to pay $335 million

TKO Holdings jump 5 points in stocks, as it agrees to pay $335 million in settlement; a far cry from the billions in question.

BREAKING! UFC Antitrust lawsuit settled before trial date; Dana White’s company agrees to pay $335 million

TKO Holdings are to pay $335 million in settlement, thus saving Dana White and Co. (Source: Instagram/IMAGO)

With UFC’s tricentennial pay-per-view event fast approaching, the management would rather that it be hassle-free. Hence, Dana White and Co. is paying a $335 million settlement for the class-action lawsuit, to rid the historic card of such nuances. The bossman White now has TKO Holdings and the new merger to thank for saving his hide. With mainstream attention and sponsored viewership with ESPN MMA, UFC has had a monumental and momentous rise.

Concurrently, unsatisfactory fighter pay was also in the spotlight due to the viewers and some fighters. Starting as a $1.6 Billion Anti-Trust Lawsuit, UFC later faced billions in damages when it transformed into a class action. Former fighters Cung Le, Nathan Quarry, Jon Fitch, Brandon Vera, Luis Javier Vazquez, and Kyle Kingsbury acted as plaintiffs (Case No. 2:15-cv-01045-RFB-BNW). Federal Judge Richard Boulware recently unsealed the lawsuit.

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The 80-page ruling obtained by MMA Junkie saw the subsequent unsealing of many UFC payouts (unevenly scaled) and controversial in-house politics. Combat sports regulatory lawyer Erik Magraken even weighed in on the sheer volume of the class action affair. MMA coverage news editor Damon Martin (@DamonMartin; for MMAFighting on SBN) and others report:

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Put forward by Cung Le, Kajan Johnson/C.B. Dollaway, later filed a proposed class action antitrust lawsuit against Zuffa LLC, which allowed a split between the trials. It dropped injunctive relief. Hence, Variety reports that there’d be no contractual changes for fighter pay. $335 million is to be paid in installments for violating antitrust laws. TKO has given minimal statements on it.

TKO Holdings paves the way for smoother sailing and resolving of mass lawsuit; plaintiffs react

UFC, merged with WWE very recently, under the TKO Holdings umbrella. Consequently, TKO has paved the way to pay $335 million in settlement for UFC’s role of allegedly engaging in anticompetitive conduct. The class action from 1,214 fighters put forward that UFC violates antitrust laws, thus, allowing it to underpay fighters.

Accordingly, it bagged a key ruling to morph into a gargantuan affair, on the grounds of engaging in monopolistic hierarchy and scheming. UFC color commentator Joe Rogan reacted to this essence of monopoly. Similarly, Ex-UFC heavyweight Mark Hunt alleged misconduct on Dana White and then-UFC Chairman Lorenzo Fertitta‘s part, trying to shut his lawyers up.

TKO Holdings resolve UFC's lawsuit woes
TKO Holdings resolve UFC’s lawsuit woes (Source: Twitter/IMAGO)

The trial was to begin on April 15 in the Las Vegas district court to hash it all out. However, TKO has reached an amicable conclusion. Here’s what a spokesperson said on the matter (h/t Joe.co.uk) – 

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 terms will be memorialized in a long-form agreement and then submitted to the court for approval...
TKO spokesperson through official channels and a recent regulation disclosure

The recanting of lawsuit articles from prominent MMA coverage website Bloody Elbow (part of the SB Nation network of blogs) had fans fearful. That, and the drop of a few prominent plaintiffs were clear marks of a quick resolution of the matter, in the shape of TKO‘s timely intervention.

In a statement released to Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports, the UFC said:

We are pleased to have reached an agreement to settle all claims asserted in both the Le and Johnson class-action lawsuits, bringing litigation to a close and benefitting all parties. The final terms of the settlement will be submitted to the court of approval.
UFC’s Official statement to Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports

And here below, the plaintiffs’ reaction can be summed up:

However, whether or not uneven fighter pay and a set bonus of $50k is to ever improve upon, is yet to be seen by fans and peers. For now, the promotion will be hoping to make UFC 300 a big hit.

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