UFC Antitrust Settlement ‘Deductible For Tax Purposes’

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Chump change for the TKO billionaires.

The UFC antitrust case has reached a settlement ... again.

The promotion was hit with a class-action lawsuit back in 2014 from multiple fighters, including Cung Le, Jon Fitch, and Nate Quarry, among others, accusing the mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion and its operators of violating Section 2 of the Sherman Act.

Both sides have agreed to a new payout of $375 million after the court struck down their first (and less expensive) agreement.

“On September 26, 2024, TKO reached an agreement with the plaintiffs to settle all claims asserted in the Le case for an aggregate amount of $375 million payable in installments over an agreed-upon period of time by the Company and its subsidiaries following the court’s denial of an earlier proposed settlement agreement,” the promotion said in today’s statement. “The terms of the Updated Settlement Agreement have been memorialized in a long form agreement, which will be submitted to the court for approval. The Company anticipates that the settlement amount will be deductible for tax purposes.”

A bigger payout for plaintiffs ... but a far cry from the billions they were seeking.

The original lawsuit was filed in 2014 and later consolidated with related cases, including the most recent action from Kajan Johnson in 2021. Johnson made headlines back in early 2017 after getting booted from the UFC fighter retreat for his outspoken views on the fighter-unfriendly Reebok deal.

The Johnson case “is in very early stages” and a motion to dismiss the complaint “remains pending,” according to UFC.

“We believe this new proposed settlement for the Le case is an excellent result for the class of UFC fighters we represent,” attorneys told MMA Fighting. “If approved, it would provide immediate monetary relief to over one-thousand fighters, who would each recover a significant enhancement to what he or she earned from the UFC during his or her fighting career. We look forward to presenting the proposed settlement to the Court for preliminary approval in the near future. We also plan on vigorously pursuing claims on behalf of the fighter class in the later-filed Johnson case, including claims for injunctive relief against the UFC.”

The new settlement awaits approval from the presiding judge.