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The plaintiffs in one of the two UFC antitrust lawsuits filed a massive brief on Monday outlining details of a new settlement agreement reached with TKO Group Holdings — the majority owners of the MMA promotion — with 56 fighters writing letters of support.

On Sept. 26, the UFC and the fighters involved in the lawsuit agreed to a new $ 375 million settlement to close out litigation that first started all the way back in 2014. An initial settlement agreement for $ 335 million to settle both antitrust lawsuits — the first covering fighters from 2010 to 2017 and the second for fighters from 2017 to the present — was denied by U.S. District Court Judge Richard Boulware from Nevada.

The new settlement agreement only covers the first lawsuit with the two sides in the second lawsuit still working towards a potential trial date. In the brief, the plaintiffs lay out a detailed breakdown why this settlement is so beneficial for the fighters, especially those in desperate need of financial relief now rather than potentially waiting several more years for a trial and possible appeals to play out in court.

Among the fighters writing letters of support was Spencer Fisher, who was declared permanently disabled and unable to work from the damage done in a career spent as a professional fighter including 17 fights over 12 years in the UFC.

“While fighting for the UFC, I suffered many significant injuries including broken hands, torn shoulder, torn retina, fused neck, bulging discs, a plastic buckle in my right eye, and many concussions,” Fisher wrote. “I had a right hip replacement in 2021 and am facing a left hip replacement in the near future. I have had two spinal taps that show the presence of the Tau protein which is a positive indicator of dementia. I struggle with problem solving and rationalization skills and get confused easily. I rely on my amazing wife Emily to function in daily living skills. I fear that during my career I have suffered traumatic brain injury (TBI) and am noticing symptoms common with TBI and CTE including depression, mood swings, and irritability. To date, no treatment for CTE has been found. I have been diagnosed permanently disabled by an independent neurologist. I also suffer bouts of vertigo. I experience memory loss and endure frequent headaches.

“This would truly be life-changing money for me and for other members of the class. These funds would ease the burden on my spouse Emily and allow me to obtain healthcare I need and assist my family in paying for basic life necessities. The sad reality is that funds years from now may be of no use to me. I desperately need these funds now.”

UFC Hall of Famer Wanderlei Silva, who spent six years with the promotion after making a name for himself in PRIDE FC in Japan, revealed that he believes he’s dealing with serious brain damage as a result of his fighting career.

With his health compromised, Silva is hoping that the financial relief provided by the lawsuit settlement will help him and his family.

“While fighting for the UFC, I suffered many significant injuries, including concussions,” Silva wrote. “I fear that during my career I have suffered traumatic brain injury (TBI) and am noticing symptoms common with TBI and CTE including depression, mood swings, and irritability…. I suffer from sleep apnea and have difficulty sleeping and breathing. That I can recall, I have had four surgeries on my nose, 1 on my face, 2 on my left knee, 1 on my right knee and 1 on my elbow.

“These funds would also allow me to obtain the healthcare I need and keep a roof over my head and food on my table. The sad reality is that funds years from now may be of no use to me. I can use and enjoy.”

Cung Le, who was one of the founding members of the antitrust lawsuit filed against the UFC in 2014, admitted that he’s nearing bankruptcy and he’s needed to rely on friends to help support him in recent years.

“Due to the strain of my current health limiting my everyday activity from working consistently, I’ve been relying on a friend who, through God’s provision, has generously sponsored my essential needs, including food and shelter, while I await the settlement of this case,” Le stated. “Without this support, I would likely need to file bankruptcy and apply for disability to manage my basic living and healthcare needs.”

Former interim UFC heavyweight champion Shane Carwin wrote in his letter of support that he’s been unable to maintain employment with his engineering degree due to health issues that continue to haunt him long after his fighting career was over.

“Despite having a degree in engineering from the Colorado School of Mines, I have been unable to maintain adequate focus to hold down an engineering job,” Carwin wrote. “I face serious challenges in meeting basic everyday expenses for food, shelter, and transportation and in basic life skills necessary to function.

“These funds would also allow me to obtain the healthcare I need and keep a roof over my head and food on my table. The sad reality is that funds years from now may be of no use to me. I desperately need these funds now.”

Additional fighters providing letters of support for the UFC antitrust lawsuit settlement include Nate Quarry, Ross Pearson, Joe Stevenson, Cat Zingano, Gray Maynard, Matt Brown, Nate Marquardt, Jon Fitch, Chris Leben, Sage Northcutt and many more.

As far as the financial compensation many of the fighters would receive, the brief filed by the plaintiffs laid out the benefits to this settlement, particularly with the increase in funds as part of this new agreement.

“The $ 375 million all cash recovery provides a swift and significant payment to the Class against the delay, costs, and risks of a trial and appeals. As discussed above, Plaintiffs had initially proposed to allocate 75% of the Prior Settlement to the Le Class (75% of $ 335 million is $ 251.25 million), and thus this Settlement would increase the amount going to the Le Class by $ 123.75 million. Plaintiffs subsequently proposed to allocate 90% of the Prior Settlement to the Le Class (90% of $ 335 million is $ 301.5 million), and in that light, this Settlement involves $ 73.5 million more for the Le Class.

“Under the Settlement, Le Class members would recover (on average), after all fees and costs are deducted, $ 250,000. Thirty-five Class members would net over $ 1 million; nearly 100 fighters would net over $ 500,000; more than 200 fighters would recover over $ 250,000; over 500 fighters would net in excess of $ 100,000; and nearly 800 would recover over $ 50,000. By any reasonable measure, the Settlement, if approved, would put “life changing” cash into the hands of the families of several hundred fighters now.”

When the judge previously issued his denial, he stated that he objected to the settlement because the agreed upon payout seemed low and that the fighters represented in the second lawsuit — covering athletes from 2017 to the present — could object to arbitration and class-action waiver clauses in existing contracts.

Under the terms of this new agreement, the $ 375 million payment only goes to the fighters involved in the first lawsuit while litigation in the second lawsuit continues.

It remains to be seen if the judge will sign off on the new agreement or not.

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UFC

Alex Pereira’s nemesis is now in the UFC, with a little help from the champ himself.

On Tuesday night, the eighth episode of season eight of Contender Series took place in Las Vegas at the UFC APEX, and after five fights, UFC CEO Dana White handed out contracts to four of the five winners.

But the biggest story of the night was the main event bout between Artem Vakhitov and Islem Masraf — and the audience it garnered.

Vakhitov is a former two-time Glory Kickboxing champion and best known for a pair of bouts with current UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. In fact, Vakhitov is the last man to beat Pereira in kickboxing, so with a potential UFC contract on the line, Pereira flew out to Las Vegas to sit cageside for his fight.

That turned out to be a good decision for both men as Vakhitov overcame a slow start to knock out Masraf in the first round. Despite the finish, it was still and up-and-down performance from Vakhitov that left Dana White on the fence. Ultimately, White said he brought Pereira back to speak with him and it was “Poatan” who vouched for his former Glory foe, leading White to offer him a UFC contract.

Steele breaks Blair

In the penultimate fight of the evening, Kody Steele finally got his shot on Contender Series and he made the most of it with a brutal body shot knockout of Chasen Blair.

Steele was supposed to compete earlier this season on Contender Series until his opponent withdrew from the fight moments before their bout. No such thing happened tonight though as Blair not only made the walk, but made Steele work for it, stuffing takedowns and landing good combinations on the feet. In the second round though, Steele landed a short hook to the body that leveled Blair and earned him a shot in the UFC.

Pinto demolishes Camacho

In the third bout of the evening, undefeated prospect Mario Pinto obliterated Luis Camacho in under two minutes to punch his ticket to the UFC.

Just 26 years old and 8-0 in his career, Pinto was a heavy favorite over Camacho and he showed the composure of a fighter with many more years of experience, taking his time to find the range before flooring Camacho with a short left hook. Some follow-up punches finished the job and Pinto moved to 9-0 and into the UFC.

Dulatov ices Antunes

In the second bout of the evening, Islam Dulatov destroyed Vanilto Antunes with a brutal first-round knockout.

Dulatov entered Contender Series as a big-time prospect and the part-time male model delivered, putting it on Antunes right from the opening bell. Antunes did his best to hand tough but ultimately Dulatov found a home for a nasty right elbow behind the ear that floored Antunes instantly and earned Dulatov a UFC contract.

Gauci outworks Drilich

In the opening bout of the evening, Sean Gauci defeated fellow Australian Anthony Drilich with a workmanlike performance.

Both Gauci and Drilich showed advanced skills in a nip-and-tuck battle that lasted the full 15 minutes. Gauci was unable to score takedowns early and Drilich made him pay with combinations, but as the HEX Fight Series champion began to settle in, he started landing good strikes of his own and mixing in enough takedowns to outlast his fellow Australian fighter.

At the end of the evening, White praised both Gauci and Drilich for their skills saying they have a bright future but that he will not offer either of them a contract right now.

Check out the DWCS week 9 results below.

Artem Vakhitov def. Islem Masraf via TKO (punches) — R1, 4:23

Kody Steele def. Chasen Blair via TKO (punches) — R2, 4:07

Mario Pinto def. Luis Camacho via TKO (punches) — R1, 1:43

Islam Dulatov def. Vanilto Antunes via knockout (elbow) — R1, 2:44

Sean Gauci def. Anthony Drilich via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

MMA Fighting – All Posts

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Dana White is all for Amanda Nunes returning to the UFC.

This past weekend, Julianna Peña reclaimed the women’s bantamweight title with a split decision victory over Raquel Pennington at UFC 307. Following her win, instead of calling out her most likely next opponent, two-time Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison, Peña instead called for Nunes to return from retirement for a trilogy fight.

Peña and Nunes have a longstanding rivalry, with Peña scoring one of the biggest upsets in MMA history by beating Nunes at UFC 269, before promptly losing the title to her in their rematch seven months later. And given their history, on Monday, Nunes appeared to respond to Peña’s callout with a social media post telling Dana White to call her.

And for White, that’s good news.

“She looks good,” White told reporters following Tuesday’s episode of Contender Series. “She looks great. Looks like she’s still in shape. So you know where her head is at, and I love that about here. There’s a lot of things I love about her, I love that about her. She’s keeping an eye on who wins the title next and I think she’s teasing that she might be interested in coming back.”

Whether or not Nunes is actually interested in returning remains to be seen. “The Lioness” retired from MMA last year after avenging her loss to Peña and then defeating Irene Aldana at UFC 289.

Of course, Nunes may not be teasing a return for Peña. Prior to her shocking upset defeat to Peña at UFC 269, there were rumors that Peña and Harrison — teammates at American Top Team — were circling a fight with each other. This was back when Harrison was negotiating with PFL, and Harrison was actually in attendance for the bout.

But whoever she might be coming back for, if she actually is at all, Dana White is here for it.

“I love Amanda Nunes,” White said. “I have an incredible relationship with her. I would absolutely love to see her come back.”

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Superstardom
| BJPenn.com

It’s that time!

Contender Series keeps rolling on for two more weeks of mixed martial arts (MMA) action. Week nine goes down tonight at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN+ from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, in front of UFC CEO, Dana White, and his cadre of matchmakers.

As has become standard for the program of late, all five fighters earned UFC contracts last week.

In the main event this evening, Alex Pereira slayer, Artem Vakhitov (2-1), takes on French viral knockout artist, Islem Masraf (3-0). Vakhitov is the last person to defeat Pereira in kickboxing. In the co-main event, Kody Steele (6-0) — whose opponent quit because of a panic attack — returns to the show, taking on Chasen Blair (6-2). The “Featured” bout sees Heavyweights clash as Mario Pinto (8-0) takes on Lucas Camacho (6-0). Islam Dulatov (10-1) — who was supposed to compete on week one — fights Vanilto Antunes (16-8). Last, and certainly not least, two Australian champions kick off the card as Anthony Drilich (8-1) fights Sean Gauci (9-1), who has a win over Steve Erceg.

‘Contender Series’ Quick Results:

Artem Vakhitov defeats Islem Masraf via knockout (punch) Round 1, 2:23
Kody Steele defeats Chasen Blair via knockout (body punch) Round 2, 4:07
Mario Pinto defeats Lucas Camacho via knockout (punch) Round 1, 1:43
Islam Dulatov defeats Vanilto Antunes via knockout (elbow) Round 1, 2:44
Sean Gauci defeats Anthony Drilich via unanimous decision (29-28×3)

‘Contender Series’ Highlights & Results:

185 lbs.: Artem Vakhitov defeats Islem Masraf via knockout

155 lbs.: Kody Steele defeats Chasen Blair via knockout

265 lbs.: Mario Pinto defeats Lucas Camacho via knockout

170 lbs.: IIslam Dulatov defeats Vanilto Antunes via knockout

125 lbs.: Sean Gauci defeats Anthony Drilich via unanimous decision

For more Contender Series news and notes, be sure to hit up our comprehensive archive right here.

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Kayla Harrison entered the UFC cage for the second time this past Saturday to defeat Ketlen Vieira in Salt Lake City and move one step closer to the bantamweight title, and Larissa Pacheco disapproved the PFL social media game that day.

Harrison started her MMA career under the PFL banner in 2018 and won 15 of her 16 bouts. The lone defeat came against Pacheco, whom she beat twice before, and PFL used Harrison’s big UFC 307 clash to promote Pacheco’s upcoming fight with MMA legend Cris Cyborg on Oct. 19. PFL also posted a clip promoting Harrison later that day.

“I thought that was uncalled for, honestly,” Pacheco said in an interview with MMA Fighting. “I think [PFL] have the champion they deserve, they have a respectful champion, who has defeated Kayla, so why do that? Promote me right. Let’s promote the champion. ‘Oh, but Larissa beat Kayla.’ You don’t need that. I’ve shown [my work] with other results, I’ve proven myself, so you don’t need that.

“But anyway, that’s not on me. I have nothing to do with that. I respect Kayla. Our rivalry is over right now because she’s in another organization. Had she stayed here it would be the two of us and Cris clashing heads here, but there’s no reason to talk [about her now]. I wish her good luck. The more she wins, the bigger my win over her gets, so I’ll always cheer for her.”

UFC CEO Dana White also bashed PFL for the tweet, joking that “when you’re losing as much money as they are, f*cking go for it.”

Cyborg is a legend of the sport with titles won in the UFC, Bellator, Strikeforce and Invicta FC. Pacheco looks to make history by adding the Brazilian to her list of victims after winning belts in two weight classes in the PFL.

Pacheco is riding a 10-fight winning streak and has only lost to Harrison, Germaine de Randamie and Jessica Andrade in 27 professional fights, but feels “it’s clear to everybody” that PFL has promoted Harrison differently.

“I don’t know if it’s because I’m Brazilian, if it’s because I don’t speak English and don’t sell that much, but I feel the difference,” Pacheco said. “She’s not even here anymore and they still [post] a lot about her, you know? She’s gone, she’s already in another organization. I think they can look at people that are in the organization.”

Pacheco hopes the public perception — and actual PFL marketing machine — changes with a win over Cyborg in Saudi Arabia.

“I think it takes me to another level, makes me one of the greats in women’s MMA,” Pacheco said. “To beat two great athletes — one two-time Olympic champion with all the hype now in the UFC, and a legend [in Cyborg]… What else do I need to say? It will take me to another level and give me the credibility promotions still don’t give me. I miss that, I won’t deny. Even from the PFL, to treat me and give credit as their actual champion.”

“People give too much weight to the fact that I’ve lost to Kayla, but I’ve l lost in 2019, when I was broken, and people don’t take that in consideration. And I won when we were both in our primes, the peak of our performances. I’m not saying one win deserves more credit than two, but there’s a huge difference. And beating Cris now would give me the hype and credibility that I need at this stage of my career.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

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