UFC reaches $375 million settlement with former fighters in antitrust lawsuit | News, scores, highlights, stats & rumors

Less than two months after a judge rejected the UFC’s original settlement in two class action lawsuits against former fighters who accused the company of withholding their pay, a new settlement has been reached in one of the cases.

In an SEC disclosure document from TKO Group Holdings, the parent company of the UFC, published on Thursday (courtesy of MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck), the promotion revealed that a $375 million settlement had been agreed upon by all parties involved:

“On September 26, 2024, TKO reached an agreement with the plaintiffs to settle all claims asserted in the Le Case for an aggregate amount of $375 million, payable in installments over an agreed period by the Company and its subsidiaries following the Court’s rejection of a previously proposed settlement agreement. The terms of the updated settlement agreement are set forth in a lengthy agreement, which will be submitted to the Court for approval. The Company expects the settlement amount to be deductible for income tax purposes.”

The UFC originally agreed to a $335 million settlement in March to resolve both class action lawsuits. ESPN’s Dotun Akintoye noted that the lawsuits cover fighters who competed with the promotion from Dec. 16, 2010, to June 30, 2017, and from July 1, 2017, to 2021.

The first complaint was filed in December 2014 by former UFC fighters Cung Le, Nate Quarry and Jon Fitch. Kajan Johnson and CB Dollaway filed their class action lawsuit against the UFC in June 2021.

According to Akintoye, more than 1,200 people were represented in one of the lawsuits.

U.S. District Judge Richard Boulware rejected the initial settlement on July 31, citing concerns about how the funds would be distributed among class members.

The UFC’s statement on Thursday noted that the new $375 million settlement only covers the lawsuit filed by Le and others.

“As for the Johnson case, that process is still in the very early stages and a motion to dismiss the complaint is still pending,” the statement said.

Heck noted that the court must still approve the new settlement agreement before the case can be officially closed.

If Boulware decides not to accept the settlement, a trial date has already been set for February 3, 2025. No date has been set for the second trial, which is still ongoing.