The judge in the UFC's anti-trust lawsuit expanded the parameters of the class to include fighters up to the present. It was previously only Zuffa fighters from Dec. 2010-June 2017. It looks like Kajun Johnson and CB Dolloway filed a complaint that led to the change (both fighters qualified for the original class).
In practical terms, this means that the original class of 1,214 fighters of the class action lawsuit just increased by 500 UFC fighters. (I count 437 debuts from 2018-present.) It also might include all the fighters from the Contender's series, since those are technically Zuffa contracts, which is pretty ironic given that the Contender's Series was a way for the UFC to sign cheap talent to longer term contracts.
This is important for a couple reasons
-Bigger class means more damages. On the high end, the UFC was already facing nearly $5 billion in damages if they lost (anti-trust damages are automatically tripled). So if damages are proportional to class size, that means damages just increased 40-50 percent, meaning the high point for damages would be quickly approaching the valuation of the UFC. (the high point would obviously not be the final settlement size)
-Another 3 or 4 years of discovery, testimony, subpoenas, etc. and the potential for more embarrassing information to come to light. It also would mean more insight into UFC financials, but this is more just a bonus if you're curious.
-I'm no lawyer, but I imagine this also means the case will take even longer. So if we're lucky we might have a final ruling before 2030, if the UFC doesn't settle before.
Final note: A lot of people on sherdog might not realize this, but the UFC lawsuit is actually a pretty big deal in economics and the larger legal world. Monopsony cases are very rare, and if the fighters win, it would be a massive change in precedent that could affect litigation in other industries.
In practical terms, this means that the original class of 1,214 fighters of the class action lawsuit just increased by 500 UFC fighters. (I count 437 debuts from 2018-present.) It also might include all the fighters from the Contender's series, since those are technically Zuffa contracts, which is pretty ironic given that the Contender's Series was a way for the UFC to sign cheap talent to longer term contracts.
This is important for a couple reasons
-Bigger class means more damages. On the high end, the UFC was already facing nearly $5 billion in damages if they lost (anti-trust damages are automatically tripled). So if damages are proportional to class size, that means damages just increased 40-50 percent, meaning the high point for damages would be quickly approaching the valuation of the UFC. (the high point would obviously not be the final settlement size)
-Another 3 or 4 years of discovery, testimony, subpoenas, etc. and the potential for more embarrassing information to come to light. It also would mean more insight into UFC financials, but this is more just a bonus if you're curious.
-I'm no lawyer, but I imagine this also means the case will take even longer. So if we're lucky we might have a final ruling before 2030, if the UFC doesn't settle before.
Final note: A lot of people on sherdog might not realize this, but the UFC lawsuit is actually a pretty big deal in economics and the larger legal world. Monopsony cases are very rare, and if the fighters win, it would be a massive change in precedent that could affect litigation in other industries.
