The UFC has agreed to pay $335 million over an unspecified period of time to settle a pair of lawsuits against it filed by former fighters alleging that it violated anti-trust lawsuits. The settlement is pursuant to the approval of U.S. District Judge Richard Boulware of Nevada.
Fighters alleged in the two suits that the UFC had an illegal monopsony. A monopsony is a market, in this case for fighters to sign with fight promotions, with only one buyer or with one dominant buyer.
In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, TKO Holdings, the UFC's parent company, announced the settlement.
It wrote, in part, "On March 13, 2024, TKO reached an agreement to settle all claims asserted in both class action lawsuits (Le and Johnson) for an aggregate amount of $335 million payable by the Company and its subsidiaries in installments over an agreed-upon period of time. The terms will be memorialized in a long form agreement and then submitted to the court for approval. The Company anticipates that the settlement amount will be deductible for tax purposes."
TKO stock has increased six points Wednesday in early trading.
A UFC spokesperson said, “We are pleased to have reached an agreement to settle all claims asserted in both the Le and Johnson class action lawsuits, bringing litigation to a close and benefiting all parties. The final terms of the settlement will be submitted to the court for approval.”
We are pleased with the settlement and will disclose more when we file with the Court in 45-60 days.
— MMAFA (@MMAFA) March 20, 2024
We Love All of these guys!
👊 pic.twitter.com/jetH24vUQ1
In a statement on Twitter, the MMAFA declared victory, writing "Today's decision is a victory for past, current and future UFC fighters, and moves us one step closer to our goal of making MMA a legitimate professional sport where wins determine title shots, not promoters."
The case was originally filed in 2014, so the settlement ends nearly a decade of litigation.