The UFC is facing an ongoing class action lawsuit against its fighters, which could result in the promotion paying $1.6 Billion in damages. Many leaked documents filed in court recently exposed the UFC fighter’s pay. Now, Joe Rogan, an important part of the UFC, looked at the stakes involved in the lawsuit and gave his opinion.
In his JRE podcast with Brendan Schaub and Eddie Bravo, the UFC commentator discussed the $1.6 Billion lawsuit against the UFC. Rogan was shocked on hearing the stakes for the first time. As such, he acknowledged the UFC might’ve become a monopoly. However, he didn’t critique the UFC for it. Also, he analyzed if it could be of political influence. Here is what he said:
Holy sh**! Well, they bought out the competition, which is definitely true. They bought Affliction, they bought Strikeforce. In some businesses, they will break you up if you have a monopoly. It seems to be at the very least, connected politically. Still, if people complain and a lawsuit comes about, there is this possibility that you could be a monopoly.Joe Rogan (via JRE Podcast)
On hearing Joe Rogan’s take, Brendan Schaub claimed monopoly wasn’t the issue and addressed the central point of the lawsuit. Schaub said UFC only shared 14% of its profits while major leagues like the NBA and NFL paid around 50% of the profit. According to the class action lawsuit website, the UFC only shared 20% of its revenue with the fighters. As such, Schaub said the fighters sued to gain compensation for it.
The UFC class action lawsuit represented over 1200 fighters and strived to gain compensation in damages for their lost profits. As such, the UFC might pay around 1.6 Billion if the plaintiffs were proven right in court. Also, the lawsuit aimed to change how the UFC did business and share equal profits with the fighters. As of now, the lawsuit is going to trial on 8 April 2024, just one week ahead of the historic UFC 300 fight card.
Related: ‘LEAKED’ email transcripts of Dana White and UFC owner showing ‘dirty’ tactics towards Nate Diaz leaves fans enraged [/related_contnet]Joe Rogan gives a solution to the ongoing class action lawsuit against the UFC
After hearing about the ongoing class action lawsuit against the UFC, Joe Rogan discussed a solution for it. While the lawsuit was aimed to gain compensation for roughly 1200 fighters, it also aimed to change how the UFC did business. So, Rogan addressed the issue and came up with a solution.
Joe Rogan believed the issue stemmed from the UFC’s ban on sponsorship of UFC apparel. So, he spoke about the Reebok Sponsorship in 2014 and how it ended the fighter’s ability to make money from other endorsements. Here is the solution that Rogan offered:
There's a real argument there. You all of a sudden take away the fighter's ability to have ads. You had more money in sponsors than you did from your purse. Here's the solution I thought of. Get a bunch of people that are interested in sponsoring the UFC, approve them. And say, this is our list of fighters, who would you like to work with. It would be lucrative for everybody if you had a bunch of sponsors.Joe Rogan (via JRE Podcast)
The UFC antitrust lawsuit began in December 2014 when a group of UFC fighters claimed the UFC used improper strategies to dominate the MMA market and undermine the fighter’s pay. The court has officially acknowledged the group of fighters as a ‘class.’ As such, the case is to stand trial in April 2024.
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