6 February 2025 marked a historical date for the Le class members as the UFC antitrust lawsuit finally received approval for the settlement. Led by Cung Le, Nate Quarry, Kyle Kingsbury, and others, the Le class stood up for the fighters who competed in the UFC during 2010-2017. Back in October 2024, TKO Holdings announced a deal with the Le vs. Zuffa case plaintiffs and the amount was around $375 million. However, Judge Richard Boulware didn’t approve of it initially. He seemed to believe that it wasn’t fair and equitable. 

But now, the Le class fighters can finally expect a check to be deposited into their accounts. The $375 million included the legal fees along with the money that the Le class fighters would receive. But how much money can we expect the fight promotion to pay the fighters? 

How much are fighters getting from the UFC antitrust lawsuit settlement?

Back in 2024, the attorneys, as per MMA Fighting, revealed the details of the settlement. On average, after deducting the fees and costs, the amount payable came to around $250K. The attorneys quoted, “Thirty-five Class members would net over $1 million; nearly 100 fighters would net over $500,000; more than 200 fighters would recover over $250,000; over 500 fighters would net in excess of $100,000; and nearly 800 would recover over $50,000.” As per these calculations, more than 1635 fighters would receive a total receivable amount of more than $225 million. Leaves more than $100M out of the payout for fighters, right? 

According to the Le class, UFC acquired fighters based on coercion, exclusive contracts, and acquisitions that helped the promotion attain monopsony in the world of mixed martial arts. Needless to say, the fighters demanded compensation. And with the final approval from Judge Boulware, the fighters can finally breathe a sigh of relief. This news was shared on Instagram by MMA Fighting. And soon, Eddie Alvarez jumped to the comments section to further explain the intricacies of the settlement. 

‘The Underground King’ wrote, “Fighters from 2010 -2017 who were on smaller contracts will receive approximately 13500.00 per fight plus 30 percent of their total earning over all . Estimated to be around 80-100 %of their total earnings . Fighters on larger contract will receive approximately 30-40 %percent of their earnings . If you made a million expect a 300-400k check.”

While that cleared some air out, there was still quite a bit of stress regarding the UFC antitrust lawsuit. And it was Ali Abdelaziz who stood against the notion of the lawsuit. The reason? Let’s find out!

Ali Abdelaziz backs Dana White and Co during heat of the lawsuit

During a recent interview with Kevin Iole, the manager of the Dagestani team claimed that the UFC antitrust lawsuit wasn’t designed to help the fighters. Even though more than 50 former UFC contenders sent a letter in support of the Le vs. Zuffa case, the Egyptian MMA manager claimed that the legal battle was all about racking up fees, leaving the fighters with nothing but scraps. 

Abdelaziz said, “They got played by a whole bunch of lawyers and the lawyers knew they were going to make almost $150 million, and the lawyer got paid. This was not about the fighters. It was about them getting their name out there. Because the fighters are not going to get anything.”

It was indeed pretty unfair if we looked through Abdelaziz’s lenses. The fighters often go through traumatic experiences with injuries. TBI and CTE are actually more common in the MMA realm than most people realize. Nevertheless, the Le vs. Zuffa case finally came to an end after a decade-long legal battle. But Dana White and Co. are yet to settle the scores in the Johnson vs. Zuffa lawsuit. 

What are your thoughts on the settlement? Do you think the fighters deserved more than what they would get paid? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.