TKO, the owners of WWE and the UFC, have agreed to a financial settlement in the UFC antitrust lawsuit.
The parent company of the UFC and the group representing approximately 1200 former fighters came to an agreement on March 13. A TKO statement to the SEC revealed that the terms of the settlement will include a $335 million payment by the UFC. A longer form document is expected in the coming days with more details on the terms.
In a statement on X, the plaintiffs wrote: “We are pleased with the settlement and will disclose more when we file with the court in 45-60 days.”
The settlement was first reported on by journalist John Nash also via X.
The UFC also released a statement saying: “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.”
Quote taken from a Kevin Iole post on X .
UFC Lawsuit Explained
The two lawsuits alleged Zuffa, the predecessor entity that owned the UFC, violated antitrust laws. They were deemed to have violated these laws by paying fighters less than they were entitled to. Furthermore, the accusations suggested that they were eliminating other MMA promotors and illegally maintaining monopoly power.
UFC fighters Cung Le, Nate Quarry, and Jon Fitch filed the initial complaint against Zuffa in December 2014. Five related class-action lawsuits were filed and consolidated into a single action in June 2015. An additional lawsuit was filed in 2021 (Johnson et al. v . Zuffa).
Consequently, the case grew to include around 1200 athletes.
Due to the settlement, the case will no longer go to the trial that was scheduled for April 15.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
