Settlement denied? Antitrust judge hints UFC monopsony case may still go to trial

The UFC could still end up going to court over accusations that it used it’s power as a monopsony in the MMA world to illegally underpay fighters for years.

Yes, this is the same antitrust case that’s been winding its way through courts for nearly a decade. It involves two class action lawsuits: Le (representing fighters from 2010 to 2017), and Johnson (representing fighters from 2017 to 2021). Back in March it was announced that a settlement had been reached between UFC and lawyers representing the fighters worth $335 million.

Now it sounds like the judge overseeing the case may reject that settlement and force the case to a jury trial.

The issue lays in how the settlement would be split between the two classes: Le fighters would receive six figure payments, while Johnson fighters would receive a flat fee of $3000. With no significant changes in the way UFC does business with its fighters, that’s a bitter pill for them.

“It is difficult for me to understand why, if Johnson were settling separately, that class members would agree to this amount of injunctive relief,” Courthouse News Service quoted Judge Boulware as saying.

Boulware noted that current UFC contract stipulations bar fighters from participating in class action lawsuits, meaning a settlement would mean “they give up, more or less, their ability to bring any claim against UFC in the near future.”

So in a strange twist, fighter lawyers may find themselves being forced to go to trial when it’s clear they’d rather accept a settlement and just walk away.

Judge Boulware has said he’d render a decision on the settlement in the next week.