The UFC has criticized a judge who rejected a financial settlement it had reached with former fighters.
In March, the UFC’s parent company, the TKO Group, agreed to a £262 million ($335 million) settlement in two lawsuits involving approximately 1,200 former UFC athletes.
The former fighters claimed the UFC’s contracts suppressed their ability to negotiate with other promotions.
However, earlier this week, Judge Richard Boulware in Nevada refused to accept the settlement and set a tentative trial date for October.
“We obviously disagree with this ruling,” the UFC stated.
“As we have said throughout this process, we strongly believe in the merits of our cases and are evaluating all our options, including, without limitation, an appeal. We have initiated discussions with plaintiffs’ counsel, who have expressed a willingness to engage in separate settlement discussions for the Le and Johnson cases.”
There are two separate lawsuits: one filed by fighters Cung Le and Nate Quarry in 2014, representing fighters from 2010 to 2017, and a second filed by fighters such as Kajan Johnson, representing fighters from 2017 to the present.
The UFC had reached a joint settlement for both cases. The first lawsuit could begin on October 28.
Plaintiffs in both cases say they are open to “re-engaging” with the UFC over a new settlement or moving forward with the trial.
The judge had previously indicated he felt the settlement amount was too low.
The UFC merged with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 2023 to form the TKO Group.
