Dana White and co. will have to pay substantially more than they thought to settle two class action lawsuits filed by former fighters. The UFC, of course, was the target of two separate lawsuits filed by former fighters, which accused the promotion of using its monopolistic market share and business practices to suppress their wages. And while the UFC has tried its best to stall and delay the proceedings in court, it saw the writing on the wall earlier this year, deciding to settle both lawsuits out of court. The original deal both litigants had reached with the promotion in early ’24 was $335 million.

However, it was dealt a huge blow after the judge in the case rejected this deal, sending the promotion scrambling. And now, UFC’s parent company’s filings with the SEC reveal that the UFC has revised its offer, increasing it to $375 million. In sharp contrast to the earlier settlement, this is the amount Dana White and Co. have agreed to pay in one of the lawsuits, namely, the Le vs. Zuffa case. This case was filed in 2014 and all the fighters on that suit were the ones who had fought before it.

Earlier, the UFC made a deal with them for a $300 million payout, meaning that now, it will shell out an additional $75 million to settle that one case.

This, of course, highlights that the UFC will reach a different settlement with the other litigant – in the Johnson vs. Zuffa case, which was originally filed in 2021. Any details of the quantum of compensation in that case remain unknown, but it will surely cost the UFC at least tens, and even hundreds of millions of dollars like in the Le case. Now let us look at a brief history of the lawsuits and what they alleged.

Dana White and co. not to be financially hit by lawsuit compensation

Dana White and co. have long been accused of underpaying fighters. In addition, many felt its earlier contracts verged on being exploitative, which wouldn’t hold up in a court of law. This is why a series of lawsuits were filed against the promotion between 2014 to ’15, which were later consolidated into a single lawsuit, Le et al vs. Zuffa.

The 2021 Johnson lawsuit added the charge of the UFC indulging in monopolistic practices. Clearly, the UFC felt there was a reasonable chance it may lose these legal proceedings and may be forced to pay anywhere between $800 million to $1.6 billion, if it actually lost in a trial.

This forced the UFC’s hand, which has decided to pay the complainants “an aggregate amount of $375 million payable in installments over an agreed-upon period of time by the Company and its subsidiaries,” TKO Holdings, the UFC’s parent company has said in its annual Form 8 Filings with the SEC. Thankfully, TKO feels that this compensation is tax deductible and if so, will not really hurt the promotion much financially. What are your thoughts on the UFC’s revised compensation to its former fighters?