UFC Accused Of Breaking The Sherman Antitrust Act – Here’s What We Know
The UFC has been accused of engaging in anti-competitive measures to gain an advantage over its competitors.
According to reports, a lawsuit was filed in 2014 where several UFC fighters, such as Cung Le, Nate Quarry and Jon Fitch, alleged that the UFC had broken the terms of the Sherman Antitrust Act.
As a result, the UFC was accused of rooting out their competition so that they would have full power over how much fighters could earn.
In response, the UFC has denied doing anything that had violated any laws. But now that the court will hear the case, there is plenty at stake.
It's official, the Plaintiff’s motion to certify class in the Le v Zuffa (UFC) antitrust case is granted for the bout class and denied for the identity class. The case finally moved forward. pic.twitter.com/5hpKhusvzX
— John S. Nash (@heynottheface) August 9, 2023
In response, sports lawyer Erik Magraken has given his take on what could happen next.
Major news on UFC Class Action Lawsuit. pic.twitter.com/lTescj1ck2
— Erik Magraken (@erikmagraken) August 9, 2023
“In a nutshell, there’s three things the court said. Number 1: That they use oppressive contracts. Number 2: That they use ruthless tactics outside of those oppressive contracts, and combined those two things keep fighters from really ever enjoying free agency.
“And 3: The court found that the UFC has bought up competition not to necessarily make their product better, but instead to give fighters fewer choices on the open market,” Magraken said
Social Media Reaction
Well this is interesting. God bless them if they manage to pull this off. https://t.co/QP5ukRKTE0
— Liquid Impact (Tony Rincon) (@deximeruya) August 9, 2023
It happened! Just an amazing, ongoing labor story https://t.co/ObKNcTc8hm
— Cardiff Garcia (@CardiffGarcia) August 9, 2023
Huge. Potential to affect the WWE as well. https://t.co/KMJOynGmTY
— TKO Talk (@TalkTKO) August 9, 2023