The UFC has been served with two new antitrust lawsuits filed by fighters while another antitrust lawsuit continues to play its way out in court.
The latest antitrust lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court in Nevada on Thursday is led by former UFC light heavyweight Phil Davis. Berger Montague—the same law firm that represented fighters in a recently settled antitrust lawsuit against the UFC as well as the ongoing lawsuit originally filed by fighters such as Kajan Johnson—is leading the charge with this latest lawsuit as well.
“The suit alleges that the UFC impairs the ability of would-be UFC competitors to attract a critical mass of top-level MMA fighters necessary to compete with the UFC at the top tier of the sport,” Eric Cramer, lead attorney for the fighters said in a press release.
“We intend to prove that the UFC engaged in a predatory scheme to undermine would be competitors to the UFC, which the suit claims had the effect of maintaining and enhancing the UFC’s dominance, and thereby impairing the careers and pay not just of the UFC’s own fighters, but also of professional MMA fighters like Mr. Davis competing for MMA promotions across the MMA industry.”
The newest antitrust lawsuit isn’t seeking any financial damages, but instead the fighters are looking for “an injunction to prevent the UFC from continuing its allegedly illegal scheme” with hopes that a successful argument in court could lead to “create the conditions for free and fair competition among professional MMA promotions, which in turn would bolster the careers and pay of professional MMA fighters across the sport.”
“I am proud to stand up for professional MMA fighters to unlock the UFC’s stranglehold on the entire sport,” Davis said in a statement.
UFC hit with 2 new antitrust lawsuits filed by former fighters
The UFC has been served with two new antitrust lawsuits led by fighters such as Phil Davis and Misha Cirkunov.
