On Tuesday, Judge Richard Boulware of Nevada temporarily approved a $375 million settlement agreement for Le vs. Zuffa. Popular sports economist Paul Gift was present at Tuesday’s hearing and later confirmed the verdict on X. Per Gift, approximately $240 million to $260 million will be paid out to qualifying fighters over the next year.
In August, Boulware originally rejected a proposed settlement of $335 million from the two parties. This initial agreement also involved plaintiffs from a separate lawsuit, Johnson vs. Zuffa. Boulware expressed concerns about the difference in compensation compared to the original claims. In the new agreement, the parties excluded Johnson vs. Zuffa and added $40 million.
The Cung Le antitrust settlement is preliminarily APPROVED. Over the next year the #UFC will pay out approx $240-260 million to Zuffa fighters from Dec 2010 – June 2017.
The net number after fees was $260M in court but lawyer costs were unclear.
— Paul Gift (@MMAanalytics) October 22, 2024
Surprisingly, there was a prior connection between UFC CEO Dana White and the judge presiding over the case. Initially, the UFC CEO was unhappy and suspected Judge Richard Boulware was biased against the UFC. However, many people believed Boulware’s ruling was fair, contrary to the UFC CEO’s initial impression. Now, fighter declarations have provoked the Judge to accept the settlement offer.
Ex-UFC stars convinced Judge to go for Anti-Trust lawsuit settlement against Dana White’s UFC
Judge Richard Boulware has issued the verdict after receiving support from 100 former UFC fighters. According to the plaintiffs, they emphasized their need for relief from the physical, mental, and financial challenges they faced after their UFC careers. Sports reporter Josh Gross mentioned that Boulware specifically highlighted the letters as a factor in the temporary settlement approval.
Former UFC star Tom Lawlor attended the hearing and confirmed the temporary approval. Lawlor was a major part of that lawsuit. In a video he posted following the verdict, the former UFC fighter estimated that approximately 1200 fighters would receive the money. This amount will be minus $115 million in fees. Most fighters wanted a settlement rather than go to trial and lose even the smallest amount of money.
CUNG LE VS ZUFFA IS OVER🚨
LIVE FROM THE COURTHOUSE
Judge Boulware grants preliminary approval in the HISTORIC $375 million Le v ZUFFA antitrust lawsuit
BIG TIME BLOW LANDED BY UFC VETS
👊🏼#ufc #mma pic.twitter.com/rROqcAN1hK— “Filthy” Tom Lawlor (@FilthyTomLawlor) October 22, 2024
The lowered total of $260 million still works out to an average of about $217,000 per fighter. However, payments will vary between athletes. It will depend on the number of fights, among other things, for fighters who fought between 2010-2017. The exact details are unknown at the moment.
Interestingly, if the lawsuit were to go to trial and Dana White’s promotion were found to be at fault, they could face a substantial financial setback, potentially amounting to billions of dollars. Moreover, it’s crucial to remember that this is just an interim decision, and the ultimate judgment is still pending.
