In court filing, UFC doubles down to keep fighter salaries a secret
The UFC used confidential fight contracts to shoot down Mark Hunt’s lawsuit against the promotion. That may come back to bite them in court.
After a judge rejected a request this past month to seal those documents, the promotion is claiming in a motion that their release would “jeopardize” the UFC and Hunt’s “competitive standing” in the MMA industry.
Further, the promotion’s chief legal officer claims the documents would fundamentally alter the contract negotiation process, making the UFC’s business “unmanageable.”
“I have personally experienced fighters holding out or refusing to accept contract offers based on the perception that he or she should receive the same deal as another fighter regardless of differences in experience, skill level, fight records, marketability, etc.,” Zuffa rep Donald J. Campbell wrote in the motion, filed Aug. 1 in U.S. District Court in Nevada.
“If this situation were multiplied across the hundreds of fighters needed to successfully run Zuffa’s business through the public disclosure of individual fighter contracts, the contract negotiation process would become unmanageable.”
Hunt sued the UFC in January 2017, claiming the promotion schemed to deny him a fair fight at UFC 200 against ex-champ Brock Lesnar, who beat him and later tested positive for a banned substance. Hunt seeks millions in damages. The UFC has denied wrongdoing.
Nevada District Judge C.W. Hoffman has yet to rule on the filing, which was first revealed by attorney Lucas Middlebrook, who serves as an advisor to the pro-union Project Spearhead and is currently embroiled in a labor complaint against the UFC over its business practices.
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The UFC used confidential fight contracts to shoot down Mark Hunt’s lawsuit against the promotion. That may come back to bite them in court.
After a judge rejected a request this past month to seal those documents, the promotion is claiming in a motion that their release would “jeopardize” the UFC and Hunt’s “competitive standing” in the MMA industry.
Further, the promotion’s chief legal officer claims the documents would fundamentally alter the contract negotiation process, making the UFC’s business “unmanageable.”
“I have personally experienced fighters holding out or refusing to accept contract offers based on the perception that he or she should receive the same deal as another fighter regardless of differences in experience, skill level, fight records, marketability, etc.,” Zuffa rep Donald J. Campbell wrote in the motion, filed Aug. 1 in U.S. District Court in Nevada.
“If this situation were multiplied across the hundreds of fighters needed to successfully run Zuffa’s business through the public disclosure of individual fighter contracts, the contract negotiation process would become unmanageable.”
Hunt sued the UFC in January 2017, claiming the promotion schemed to deny him a fair fight at UFC 200 against ex-champ Brock Lesnar, who beat him and later tested positive for a banned substance. Hunt seeks millions in damages. The UFC has denied wrongdoing.
Nevada District Judge C.W. Hoffman has yet to rule on the filing, which was first revealed by attorney Lucas Middlebrook, who serves as an advisor to the pro-union Project Spearhead and is currently embroiled in a labor complaint against the UFC over its business practices.
View: https://twitter.com/lkmiddleb/status/1027929621520637952/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1027929621520637952&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fmmajunkie.com%2F2018%2F08%2Fin-court-filing-ufc-doubles-down-to-keep-fighter-salaries-a-secret
More at link