As the UFC continues to seek the end of the ongoing antitrust lawsuit against them, the company has reportedly proposed another settlement offer. The offer was ostensibly agreed upon by the plaintiffs and is pending judge approval.
MMA business reporter John Nash reported the news, saying that retired fighter Cung Le agreed to the new amount offered by TKO. The latest settlement was for $375 million, $40 million more than the initial $335 million settlement agreed upon earlier in 2024.
The initial settlement was denied by Judge Richard Boulware, who set a new trial date for the case in October. The second settlement agreed upon on Sept. 26 now once again requires Boulware's approval.
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However, per Nash, the settlement is only pertaining to the original lawsuit filed by Le. A second similar lawsuit was filed by former UFC fighter Kajan Johnson in 2021, which TKO has not yet provided a settlement offer for.
The initial lawsuit filed by Le in 2014 — along with other former fighters Brandon Vera, Kyle Kingsbury, Jon Fitch and Johnson — alleged that the UFC manipulated the MMA market to gain an "unfair advantage" and create a "monopsony." The lawsuit claimed that the tactics used by the promotion took advantage of fighters, leading to current issues centered around low fighter pay.
Dana White's comments on judge's denial of previous UFC antitrust lawsuit settlement
The last time TKO was able to get Cung Le to agree to a settlement to potentially end the nearly 10-year-long case, the amount was denied by Judge Richard Boulware. The decision upset UFC CEO Dana White, who claimed that it was a "personal" attack from Boulware.
White revealed to veteran reporter Kevin Iole that he went to high school with Boulware and believes that the decision was not solely made based on the case facts.
Boulware stated that his decision to deny the settlement was due to his belief that the $335 million amount was not sufficient for the plaintiffs. Le's lawyers were seeking over $800 million in damages, which made the settlement roughly one-third of the potential cost for the UFC.
Boulware's report stated that once the settlement amount was distributed to the relevant fighters, most would barely receive any compensation, thus making it an unfair amount.