On Tuesday, Judge Richard Boulware preliminarily approved the Le antitrust settlement of $375 million for the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs will receive between $240 million and $260 million after attorney fees and costs per Paul Gift who was in the courtroom.
The Cung Le antitrust settlement is preliminarily APPROVED. Over the next year the #UFC will pay out approx $240-260 million to Zuffa fighters from Dec 2010 – June 2017.
— Paul Gift (@MMAanalytics) October 22, 2024
The net number after fees was $260M in court but lawyer costs were unclear.
The attorneys for the plaintiffs must provide the Court with its billings and costs associated with the nearly 10 years of legal work it has done in this case.
Plaintiffs’ counsel Eric Cramer issued a statement to the media.
“We are extremely pleased that Judge Boulware granted preliminary approval of the $375 million settlement of the Le v. Zuffa case,” Cramer wrote. “It is a monumental achievement that will get significant relief to hundreds of deserving MMA fighters. We honor our brave representative plaintiffs who fought for this result for ten years. And we look forward to pursuing significant business changes and more damages in our second antitrust case against the UFC.”
Judge Boulware indicated that the fighter declarations that were filed with the Court in support of the settlement weighed heavily on his decision to grant the preliminary approval. Judge Boulware denied a settlement proposal of $325 million for both Le and Johnson.
The settlement still must go through a fairness hearing to dot the Is and cross the Ts but for the most part this case is done. Per the Court, Zuffa will start to issue payments to fighters after June 2025.
The Johnson case will continue on although the Le settlement is significant.
Former UFC Fighter Tom Lawlor was at the hearing.
CUNG LE VS ZUFFA IS OVER🚨
— “Filthy” Tom Lawlor (@FilthyTomLawlor) October 22, 2024
LIVE FROM THE COURTHOUSE
Judge Boulware grants preliminary approval in the HISTORIC $375 million Le v ZUFFA antitrust lawsuit
BIG TIME BLOW LANDED BY UFC VETS
👊🏼#ufc #mma pic.twitter.com/rROqcAN1hK
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