September 26, 2024
The UFC and its fighters have reached a revised settlement that upsizes the payout to $375 million, resolving a portion of their long dispute over wages and leaving claims from a similar class action unresolved, the organization said Thursday.
UFC, a subsidiary of TKO Group Holdings Inc., said in a statement it was responding to concerns raised by Nevada U.S. District Judge Richard F. Boulware II, who rejected the initial $335 million agreement that would have ended claims from the mixed martial arts fighters in two class actions accusing UFC of suppressing their wages. A spokesman for UFC declined to discuss more details about the judge’s concerns referred to in the statement.
The court must approve the most recent settlement.
“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,” Thursday’s statement says.
The court had expressed concern that the prior settlement included both the Le et al. v. Zuffa LLC case, filed in 2014 by fighter Cung Le and nearing trial, and Johnson et al. v. Zuffa LLC et al., filed in 2021 by fighter Kajan Johnson, which has not progressed as far. Judge Boulware also questioned the amount being offered to resolve the two cases.
The revised settlement resolves the Le case, and the Johnson case remains open.
. . .
The fighters are represented by Eric L. Cramer, Michael Dell’Angelo, Ellen T. Noteware, Patrick F. Madden, Najah A. Jacobs and Joshua P. Davis of Berger Montague, Richard A. Koffman, Benjamin D. Brown, Daniel H. Silverman and Daniel Gifford of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, Joseph R. Saveri, Kevin E. Rayhill, Christopher K.L. Young and Itak Moradi of Joseph Saveri Law Firm LLP, Don Springmeyer of Kemp Jones LLP, Robert C. Maysey and Jerome K. Elwell of Warner Angle Hallam Jackson & Formanek PLC, and Crane Pomerantz of Clark Hill PLC.
Read New UFC Settlement Separates Cases, Ups Payout to $375M.