UFC’s courtroom battles are not over. Two new antitrust lawsuits were brought against the mixed martial arts promotion in the last week, months after UFC settled a separate antitrust suit.
On Thursday, former UFC light heavyweight Phil Davis led the charge on new antitrust allegations against the UFC. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court in Nevada by Berger Montague, the law firm that represented fighters in the recently settled lawsuit, and is representing the ongoing lawsuit involving former UFC fighter Kajan Johnson.
The new suit lists Zuffa LLC, TKO Group Holdings and Endeavor Group Holdings as the defendants. It alleges that UFC’s unlawful efforts to eliminate competition impact non-UFC fighters’ abilities to secure fair wages.
“The suit alleges that the UFC impairs the ability of would-be UFC competitors to attract a critical mass of top-level MMA fighters necessary to compete with the UFC at the top tier of the sport,” Eric Cramer, lead attorney for the fighters, said in a press release published by ESPN.
“We intend to prove that the UFC engaged in a predatory scheme to undermine would be competitors to the UFC, which the suit claims had the effect of maintaining and enhancing the UFC’s dominance, and thereby impairing the careers and pay not just of the UFC’s own fighters, but also of professional MMA fighters like Mr. Davis competing for MMA promotions across the MMA industry.”
The lawsuit’s aims include enabling fighters to terminate a promotional contract without penalty after one year. Generally, standard contracts consist of a pre-determined number of MMA bouts taking place over an unspecified period. UFC is required to offer fights on a routine basis, but the timer resets if a fighter declines the offered bout.
The suit also seeks “the elimination of restrictive and/or exclusionary clauses from [the UFC’s] agreements with professional MMA fighters, the elimination of arbitration clauses and class action waivers.”
UFC Fight Night prediction — Erin Blanchfield vs. Maycee Barber: Fight card, odds, start time, live stream
Shakiel Mahjouri
Davis, 40, is currently signed to the Professional Fighters League, competing in the promotion’s $500,000 light heavyweight tournament. He competed for the UFC between 2010 and 2015, before signing with Bellator.
“I am proud to stand up for professional MMA fighters to unlock the UFC’s stranglehold on the entire sport,” Davis said in a statement.
On May 23, UFC alum Misha Cirkunov filed a separate antitrust lawsuit, according to MMA Fighting. The lawsuit specifically addresses fighters who signed UFC contracts that include a clause regarding arbitration rules or class-action waivers. It relates to the second of the two original antitrust lawsuits.
In October, UFC settled an antitrust lawsuit for $375 million first filed in 2014. The lawsuit, led by fighters such as Cung Le, covered fighters from 2010 through 2017.
A second lawsuit, led by fighters including Johnson, covered athletes from 2017 to the present. This second lawsuit is still active with UFC recently filing a motion to deny class certification or strike allegations “on the ground that some class members had signed contracts with Zuffa that contained arbitration clauses and/or class-action waivers.”
Cirkunov’s new antitrust lawsuit attempts to remedy that issue by specifically representing athletes who signed contracts containing the arbitration or class action waiver clause. It functions to prevent further delays in the lawsuit filed by Johnson and others. The Cirkunov lawsuit seeks damages and an order invalidating the arbitration or class action waiver clause in existing UFC contracts, while also seeking to eliminate those clauses in future deals.
“Although Plaintiff disagrees with Defendants’ position, in order to (a) avoid unnecessary delay in Johnson, (b) ensure that the invalidity and unenforceability of UFC Fighters’ arbitration agreements and class action waivers may be adjudicated, Misha Cirkunov brings this case on behalf of those UFC Fighters, like himself, who fought in a bout promoted by the UFC from July 1, 2017 until the illicit scheme alleged herein ceases, and who signed a contract with Zuffa LLC that contained a clause purporting to require disputes between the fighter and Zuffa (and/or its parent companies or affiliates) to be submitted to individual arbitration (an “Arbitration Clause”) and/or a clause purporting to waive any right to participate in a class action”
A June 3 hearing will provide updates on several motions related to the Johnson lawsuit.
CBS Sports has reached out to UFC for comment.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings