UFC today announced a revised and sweetened $375 million settlement of a class action antitrust lawsuit after a judge threw out the first agreement, which totaled $335 million.
The company, which is part of TKO Group, issued a statement saying, “We have reached a revised agreement with Plaintiffs to settle the Le case with terms that we believe address Judge Boulware’s stated concerns. While we believe the original settlement was fair — a sentiment that was also shared by Plaintiffs — we feel it is in the best interest of all parties to bring this litigation to a close. As for the Johnson case, that process is in very early stages, and a motion to dismiss the complaint remains pending.”
The case in question today is Le et al. v. Zuffa, a consolidation of five separate suits where former UFC athletes alleged violations of Section 2 of the Sherman Act. The plaintiffs and the company had agreed to the earlier settlement but it was rejected by Judge Richard Boulware of U.S. District court in Nevada in July, who must also approve this latest proposal.
The judge had set a new trial date of Feb. 3 in a setback to the Dana White-led mixed martial arts league.
Endeavor-owned TKO said the $375 million would be payable in installments over an agreed-upon period of time. “The terms of the Updated Settlement Agreement have been memorialized in a long form agreement, which will be submitted to the court for approval.” The company anticipates the payout will be tax deductible.
The lawsuits were launched years ago, in 2014 and 2015, by fighters claiming that the UFC was a monopoly abusing its power to limit fighters’ pay. The UFC and TKO have rejected the claim.
