"The only person that won here was the attorneys" - Former fighter expresses dismay with UFC antitrust lawsuit settlement

Former UFC fighter Antonio McKee, the father of AJ McKee Jr, believes the UFC antitrust lawsuit settlement only benefited the attorneys.

Over the past decade, former fighters, including Cung Le and Jon Fitch, have attempted to sue the UFC for business malpractice and controlling a monopsony. The massive lawsuit was finally scheduled for trial in April before they settled for $335 million.

The lawsuit result fell flat with fans, as most hoped for more than a financial settlement to benefit fighters moving forward. During an appearance on The MMA Hour, retired combatant Antonio McKee had this to say about the situation:

"It's great, but they shouldn't have settled, and it's done nothing. What's changed? Nothing has changed. So, I've basically seen a bunch of attorneys sell out. I think it was attorneys [that sold out] because the attorneys took most of that money. I was in on the original lawsuit. I still have the paperwork, and the way the percentages are split, the only person that won here was the attorneys. Smart move on the UFC to settle."

McKee established a 30-6-2 professional MMA record between 1999 and 2019. Throughout his fighting career, 'Mandingo' competed in the IFL, Dream, UFC, Bellator, and more. Nowadays, the 54-year-old coaches various fighters, including his son McKee Jr, who is a superstar in Bellator/PFL.

Watch Antonio McKee's comments about the UFC antitrust lawsuit below:

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Mixed Martial Arts Fighters Association declares UFC antitrust lawsuit result 'a victory'

The UFC antitrust lawsuit was settled for far more than the former fighters initially wanted. Meanwhile, one of the primary fighters involved in the legal action, Nathan Quarry, agrees with most fans and analysts about not succeeding, as he shared the following message on Reddit:

"No, we didn't get everything we wanted. Our goal all along was to change the sport. However, we had quite a few delays that we had to deal with...We'd be looking at another ten years just to be where we are today with no guarantee of winning any punitive amount of injunctive change."

Quarry also claimed he isn't allowed to talk about the settlement at the moment. Quarry did reveal he plans to explain the complicated reasons why they chose not to go to trial once he's allowed.