Second UFC Class-Action Suit Filed Citing Anti-Trust Allegations
A second class-action lawsuit against the UFC was filed earlier this week.
The initial UFC lawsuit centered around anti-trust issues was filed on Tuesday, Dec. 16, when a legal team representing plaintiffs Cung Le, Jon Fitch, and Nate Quarry filed the suit in the United States District Court, Northern District of California, in San Jose, Calif.
SEE ALSO: Cung Le, Jon Fitch and Nate Quarry Spearhead Lawsuit Claiming UFC Killed Competition
The suit alleges that the “UFC has engaged in an illegal scheme to eliminate competition from would-be rival MMA Promoters by systematically preventing them from gaining access to resources critical to successful MMA Promotions, including by imposing extreme restrictions on UFC Fighters’ ability to fight for would-be rivals during and after their tenure with the UFC. As part of the scheme, the UFC not only controls Fighters’ careers, but also takes and expropriates the rights to their names and likenesses in perpetuity. As a result of this scheme, UFC Fighters are paid a fraction of what they would earn in a competitive marketplace.”
On Monday, Dec. 22, two more former UFC athletes joined the fight, as Javier Vasquez and Dennis Hallman filed suit in the same court as Le, Fitch, and Quarry.
The firms representing Le, Fitch, and Quarry are also representing Vasquez and Hallman. They include the Joseph Saveri Law Firm; Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, PLLC; and Berger & Montague, P.C.
SEE ALSO: UFC Class Action Lawsuit News Conference Audio
It was unclear at the time of publication why a separate suit was filed, if the two suits may eventually be combined, and whether or not there are more suits to come.
The UFC has yet to make much comment on the suit, other than to issue an official statement promising to “vigorously defend itself and its business practices.”
