TKO reaches agreement to settle UFC Athlete Class-Action lawsuits, set to pay $335 million
TKO Group Holdings, the parent company of the UFC, has agreed to pay $335 million to settle two class-action lawsuits brought forth by former UFC fighters.
Last August, the MMA organization obtained official class certification in an antitrust lawsuit dating back to 2014. A U.S. District Court sanctioned the suit, which was initially launched by approximately 1,200 fighters in 2020, to progress as a unified legal action.
Zuffa LLC, the entity that owned and managed the UFC prior to TKO, faced litigation in five interconnected class-action lawsuits filed from December 2014 to March 2015. These legal actions were combined into a unified case in June 2015.
TKO announced on March 13, 2024, that it had finalized a deal to resolve all claims made in the lawsuits, agreeing to pay a total of $335 million in installments over an extended period, as stated in an SEC filing by the company.
The lawsuits accused Zuffa of breaching antitrust regulations by underpaying UFC fighters and stifling competition from other MMA promoters. Initially, UFC fighters Cung Le, Nate Quarry and Jon Fitch filed their complaint against Zuffa in a federal court in California.
Subsequently, in June 2021, Kajan Johnson and C.B. Dollaway filed a proposed class-action antitrust lawsuit against Zuffa and Endeavor, making similar allegations of illegal and anti-competitive practices by the MMA promotion.
Earlier this month, the UFC faced a setback when a judge ruled against allowing several witnesses, including prominent MMA figures like Michael Chandler, Miesha Tate and Chael Sonnen to testify in favor of the promotion.
TKO Group was founded last year as a result of a merger led by Endeavor, which brought together UFC and WWE. Endeavor holds a controlling interest in TKO, with the sports and entertainment conglomerate boasting an immense global fanbase exceeding 1 billion fans across 180 countries. The MMA promotion retained a 51% majority stake in TKO, while WWE holds the remaining 49%. This newly established entity commands a staggering valuation of approximately $21 billion USD.