When a group of 1,200 fighters active between 2010 and 2017 filed a lawsuit against the UFC, accusing the promotion of using illegal ways to pay them less, it became a monumental case for a sport that went from being niche entertainment to ‘human cockfighting’—as late U.S. Senator John McCain once called it. It took place in December 2014 and included names like Jon Fitch, Brandon Vera, and Luis Javier Vazquez, amongst several others.

In July 2024, the court came to the decision to not approve a $335 million settlement in a pair of class actions. Judge Richard Boulware was of the opinion that the promotion was trying to get away with light compensation and without many changes to its contracts. However, this denial was opposed by both sides, as it could have helped fighters who needed the money immediately. This could result in the UFC shelling out billions, but in our exclusive interview with former UFC fighter Matt Brown, a different possibility was discussed.

“I don’t think anyone can present any challenges. Obviously, the Sheikh money [Turki Al-Sheikh]… That money could certainly play a role but I think Dana is friendly with them, right? And they’ll probably work together. I don’t think there’s a chance of having any challenge to the UFC unless the lawsuit goes through and drastic changes happen.”

“I have no idea, you know, what’s going to happen with that, but that’s sort of the elephant in the room that no one really likes to talk about, particularly the MMA media, which is mainly influenced or controlled by the UFC,” Brown shared with our host Andrew Whitelaw.

He further added, “They don’t like to bring that up a lot, but if you research it at all, you know, like if this goes through, the entire landscape of MMA could be changed. I don’t necessarily know if that’s going to be for the better, and the reason that I say that is because without the UFC being the monster, I don’t know if MMA has another promotion or another, yeah, just another route to stay as big as it is.”

Both sides in the lawsuit seem interested in a settlement, but Boulware’s refusal to accept it points to a few things: The promotion would need to increase their fighters’s pay by making structural changes to the contracts they offer. This could also include making free agency easier.

There are two separate lawsuits: Le v Zuffa and Johnson v Zuffa.

A trial for Le v Zuffa, which is a class action suit, is provisionally scheduled for Oct. 28 in the District of Nevada. On the other hand, for Johnson v Zuffa, which is not class-certified, a trial is not imminent. However, the $335 million settlement aimed to settle both the lawsuits.

The UFC on $335 million settlement getting denied…

Judge Richard Boulware has yet to explain the real reason behind the rejection of the settlement. However, Jeffrey Kessler, who was one of the lead lawyers for the plaintiffs in the House v. NCAA settlement has followed the UFC case very closely and shared his thoughts about the judge rejecting the settlement.

“It is extremely rare to not grant a preliminary settlement approval when both sides came to an agreement after years of litigation with the assistance of an experienced mediator. It’s very unusual,” he opined. It must be noted that if the proceedings go on further and if the promotion is found guilty of mishap, they will have to pay as much as $1.6 billion to the fighters. But what did the promotion have to say about the rejection?

Through a press release in July, the promotion issued a statement disregarding the ruling, citing, “We obviously disagree with this ruling and believe it disregards the expertise of counsel from both sides, as well as that of an accomplished and expert mediator — all of whom have decades of experience in antitrust case law.”

They further added, “[The ruling] prevents the athletes from receiving what they have argued is in their best interest and unwinds an extensively negotiated settlement that, in the plaintiffs’ counsel’s own words, ‘would far surpass the typical antitrust class action settlement’ and ‘is an excellent result for the Settlement Classes by all traditional measures.’”

This leads things back toward a trial. People will have to wait and watch what happens here.