Imminent ‘Massive’ Lawsuit Against the UFC
Imminent ‘Massive’ Lawsuit Against the UFC
An alleged class action lawsuit against the UFC is being filed by former and current UFC fighters. The class action suit is alleging that the sport’s most dominant league used it’s market power to “intentionally” and “systematically” cripple the free market, according to Brent Brookhouse and John Nash of Bloodyelbow.com.
As of now, no names of the fighters involved have been confirmed, however, the list is being rumored to have some high profile names in the MMA community.
The recent announcement of the Reebok sponsorship deal with the UFC will also play a role into the suit. The plaintiffs will be seeking damages in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Reasons for such a high suit (which might even be a higher final amount) include reduced fight purses, video game rights fees, and other sources of income .
Sources close to Bloodyelbow also claim that the fighters are being represented by up to three (possibly four) major law firms renowned for antitrust litigation. These firms had victories over larger business entities than the UFC, such as banking, pharmaceutical, credit, and technology industries.
According to Kirik Jenness of mixedmartialarts.com, there was an investigation between the UFC and Strikeforce parent company ZUFFA by the Federal Trade Commission back in 2011. This was to determine whether ZUFFA holds a monopoly position in the sport of mixed martial arts. Company owners Lorenzo Fertitta and Dana White claimed this was a ridiculous idea. The Federal Trade Commission would close the investigation.
No one from the UFC has released any information on this pending class action suit. We will keep you posted.
