(CN) — More than 50 former Ultimate Fighting Championship athletes are urging a federal judge to approve a $375 million settlement in their antitrust class action against the fight promotion, arguing that they need the money to address dire financial and medical issues.
“I need urgent medical attention and treatment now including physical therapy, chiropractic therapy, counseling and neurological treatment,” Sean Spencer, an eight-fight UFC veteran, wrote in a court filing. “I have not been receiving the necessary care to maintain my health due to the expenses of healthcare which I cannot afford.”
Spencer was one of dozens of ex-fighters who filed declarations in their antitrust case late Monday night, pleading with U.S. District Judge Richard Boulware of the District of Nevada to greenlight their latest settlement agreement with the UFC. The case was settled once before, but Boulware axed the agreement in July after he expressed concerns that it wasn’t a good enough deal for the fighters.
Worried that the new settlement could suffer the same fate, 54 fighters in the class wrote to Boulware to describe why the offer on the table is better for them than waiting for trial.
“My family deserves a healthier me and I desperately need help now — not years from now,” Spencer continued in his declaration. “This would truly be life-changing money for me and for other members of the class.”
The new settlement offer, reached between fighters and the UFC’s parent company in September, is undoubtedly a better deal for the athletes than the one Boulware nixed this summer.
The initial offer, in addition to being $40 million less, would have settled two active antitrust class actions against the UFC: Le v. Zuffa, which is aimed at recovering lost wages for the athletes, and Johnson v. Zuffa, which looks to implement changes to the UFC’s business model to make the MMA market more competitive.
The new $375 million offer settles only Le, meaning the fight for better business in the UFC could continue with Johnson even if the offer is approved. Separating the two cases seemed to address one of Boulware’s biggest concerns about the first settlement: that it didn’t include meaningful injunctive relief for the Johnson class.
Still, approval of the new offer isn’t guaranteed. At past hearings Boulware also took issue with the fact that the UFC could be on the hook for much more — billions of dollars — should both cases go to trial.
But after 10 years of litigating, some of those Le fighters say they need their payout now. UFC Hall of Famer Wanderlei Silva wrote in his declaration that he’s experiencing symptoms consistent with CTE, a degenerative brain disease affecting those who experience repetitive head trauma.
“These funds would also allow me to obtain the healthcare I need and keep a roof over my head and food on the table,” Silva wrote. “The sad reality is that funds years from now may be of no use to me. I can use and enjoy these funds with my family now.”
Diego Sanchez, another UFC Hall of Famer who fought a whopping 32 times for the organization, wrote that “day to day survival is a struggle” due to his post-career financial situation.
If he gets his settlement cash, Sanchez said he’d spend it on healthcare expenses, paying off debt and getting a piece of land in New Mexico for his family.
Under the settlement offer, more than 1,000 ex-UFC fighters could each receive payouts between $15,000 and more than $1 million based on how many times they fought for the organization, among other factors.
Gray Maynard, a 20-fight UFC veteran, told Courthouse News on Tuesday that he’s not quite sure how much he’d be entitled to should the Le settlement go through. But he knows that winning a trial against a multibillion-dollar company like the UFC is no small feat.
“People are hurt,” Maynard said. “So we would like to get paid now.”
Even if the fighters are victorious, Maynard acknowledged that the UFC’s vow to appeal a verdict against it could mean his colleagues wouldn’t see payouts for years.
“Maybe I could have waited like, two, three, four years to go to trial or whatever,” Maynard said. “But a lot of guys, they can’t. A lot of these guys need this.”
Maynard said it was “depressing” for him to read the declarations from fellow fighters, many of whom detailed the ruin of both their bodies and their bank accounts after spending their careers in the UFC. Maynard submitted a declaration, too, where he said that he’d spend his settlement money on his kids’ college plans and support his wife’s business.
“I and nearly all UFC fighters were underpaid throughout our professional careers, and we have already been waiting more than 14 years for some form of justice,” Maynard wrote.
Maynard, one of the more outspoken critics of UFC pay over the years, is also just looking for some peace of mind.
“If it does happen, maybe all of that fighting and competing was worth it a little bit more, right?” Maynard asked.
Boulware hasn’t indicated when he’d rule on the new settlement. If it’s denied, trial in the Le case is slated for early 2025.