By TRISTEN CRITCHFIELD, Sher Dog
Cung Le, Jon Fitch and Nate Quarry have united to file a class-action lawsuit against the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Cung Le of USA waits at the octagon before his 5-Round middleweight fight against Michael Bisping of England during the UFC Fight Night at The Venetian Macao Cotai Arena on August 23, 2014 in Macau, China. (Photo by Victor Fraile/Getty Images)
According to a release, the multi-million dollar lawsuit accuses the UFC of “illegally maintaining monopoly and monopsony power by systematically eliminating competition from rival promoters, artificially suppressing fighters’ earnings from bouts and merchandising and marketing activities through restrictive contracting and other exclusionary practices.”
BloodyElbow.com initially broke the story on Saturday evening, and the lawsuit was announced at Hyatt Place hotel in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday afternoon.
The civil action is officially entitled Cung Le, et al v. Zuffa, LLC, d/b/a Ultimate Fighting Championship and UFC. It alleges “that the plaintiffs are victims of the UFC’s illegal scheme to eliminate its competition in the sport of MMA and suppress compensation for UFC Fighters from bouts and fighter identities and likenesses.” The lawsuit was filed in US District Court for the Northern District of California on Tuesday.
The UFC issued a brief response shortly after the press conference.
“The UFC is aware of the action filed today but has not been served, nor has it had the opportunity to review the document,” the statement read. “The UFC will vigorously defend itself and its business practices.”
The plaintiffs are represented by antitrust litigation firms Cohen Milstein Sellers and Toll PLLC, Berger & Montague, P.C., Joseph Saveri Law Firm, Inc. and Warner Angle Hallam Jackson & Formanek PLC. More details about the case, including the complaint and biographies of the plaintiffs, can be viewed here.
Currently there are no other fighters involved in the lawsuit, but that could change as the case unfolds, as the legal team stated that it has not yet made a decision to include any more athletes.
“The UFC was built on the battered bodies of MMA fighters who have left their blood and sweat in the Octagon. Those fighters are entitled to the benefits of a competitive market for their talents,” counsel Benjamin Brown said.
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