Two months after a federal judge rejected the original pact, UFC and lawyers representing around 1,200 former fighters agreed to a new preliminary settlement Thursday in the antitrust case that began nearly a decade ago.
UFC has agreed to $375 million in compensation—a $40 million bump over the original deal that encompassed two different class-action cases— as part of the reworked settlement, a source with knowledge of the deal told Front Office Sports. U.S. District Court Judge Richard Boulware will need to approve the new preliminary settlement after it’s filed in U.S. District Court of the District of Nevada.
“We have reached a revised agreement with Plaintiffs to settle the Le case with terms that we believe address Judge Boulware’s stated concerns,” UFC said in a statement. “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.”
Boulware set a Feb. 3 trial date after he rejected the preliminary settlement that covered two class-action lawsuits that alleged UFC used its dominance in the pro mixed martial arts market to suppress fighter wages. At a July hearing, Boulware expressed reservations about the total compensation amount before he took the unusual step of rejecting the deal at the preliminary settlement stage.
The settlement covers just the original litigation over fighter pay for athletes who competed in UFC between December 2010 through June 2017, a case that had former UFC competitor Cung Le as one of the lead plaintiffs.
UFC said on Thursday that it will proceed with a motion to dismiss the other class of fighters from 2017 onward. That case—which counts UFC fighter Kajan Johnson as one of the plaintiffs—remains far from a trial.
The rejected preliminary agreement that included the Johnson lawsuit had compensation for current and former UFC fighters covered by that class along with relaxing contract terms, which would have made it easier for competitors to work for other MMA organizations.
UFC—which was purchased by Endeavor in 2018 before it was merged with WWE to create TKO Group—has good cause to settle the Le case. At trial, UFC faces the prospect of a jury verdict that could have exceeded $1 billion in damages.
