UFC antitrust lawsuit: Who started it, how many fighters are a part of it and more

The 2014 class action lawsuit filed against the UFC has recently been brought back to the surface as the antitrust suit has been officially granted class certification.

Fans have seen a glimpse of the potential fallout recently, with multiple fighter salaries being publicly released. Yet, the few notable information dumps remain just the tip of the iceberg of what is soon to come.

The new update gives the plaintiffs momentum behind their case, though the end is still far ahead.

Over the course of the lawsuit's nine-year history, there have been a lot of moving parts, including new faces getting involved, but the end goal has remained the same.

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Who started the UFC antitrust lawsuit?

In 2014, the lawsuit was initially filed by a group of former fighters with Class Representatives Nate Quarry, Cung Le, Jon Fitch, Brandon Vera, Luis Javier Vazquez, and Kyle Kingsbury. The former employees and now plaintiffs filed the suit against the UFC and Zuffa LLC.

Together, the Class Representatives claimed that the promotion violated US antitrust laws, which are intended to promote business competition and prevent monopolies. The Class Representatives stated that the UFC used 'improper strategies to dominate the market for MMA fighter services', which led to the decrease in fighter pay.

The recent case development, however, now means the Class Representatives are representing a much larger group than before.

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What does class certification mean?

With the newest update on the antitrust lawsuit, judges denied the UFC's appeal of the decision to grant the case class certification.

The decision moves the case forward to trial and also means that any fighter who competed in the UFC from December 16, 2010, to June 30, 2017, may sue the promotion as a 'collective' for unfair business practices. This would include over 1,000 potential fighters.

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How many fighters are a part of the lawsuit?

As of right now, no notable fighter names have joined the lawsuit other than the initial group who filed suit. However, there are over 1,200 current and former fighters who are eligible to do so.

With the judges' denial coming less than a week ago, it would not be surprising to see announcements of fighters getting involved very soon. As fans have seen with the recent fighter pay releases, there is a lot of currently uncovered information that could turn the sport on its head.

The case is still expected to continue for the next couple of years.