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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

UFC and the fighters involved in a pair of antitrust lawsuits reached a settlement agreement that seemingly shut the door on any potential trial, but that all changed on Tuesday.

Judge Richard Boulware issued a judgment denying the settlement agreement while simultaneously setting a trial date in October, despite both parties anticipating the end of the court case. The two separate lawsuits — one filed by fighters including Cung Le and Nate Quarry in 2014 that covered UFC athletes from 2010 to 2017, and a second lawsuit filed by fighters such as Kajan Johnson that covered athletes from 2017 to the present — joined together for the settlement, but that may no longer be the case.

Following news that Boulware denied the settlement agreement, UFC issued a statement addressing the decision after originally agreeing to pay $ 335 million to settle both lawsuits.

“We obviously disagree with this ruling and believe it disregards the expertise of counsel from both sides, as well as that of an accomplished and expert mediator — all of whom have decades of experience in antitrust case law,” UFC officials said in the statement. “It prevents the athletes from receiving what they have argued is in their best interest and unwinds an extensively negotiated settlement that, in the plaintiffs’ counsel’s own words, ‘would far surpass the typical antitrust class action settlement’ and ‘is an excellent result for the Settlement Classes by all traditional measures.’

“Additionally, by taking the unusual step of denying the settlement at this preliminary approval stage, the Judge is also denying the athletes their right to be heard during this pivotal moment in the case. As we have said throughout this process, we believe strongly in the merits of our cases and are evaluating all our options — including, without limitation, an appeal — and have initiated discussions with plaintiffs’ counsel who have expressed a willingness to engage in separate settlement discussions for the Le and Johnson cases.

TKO Group Holdings — the parent company to UFC — also filed a financial disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding the decision.

Read the statement below:

“On July 30, 2024, following the court’s hearings on the parties’ submission to approve their agreement to settle all claims asserted in both class action lawsuits (Le and Johnson) for an aggregate amount of $ 335 million payable by the Company and its subsidiaries in installments over an agreed-upon period of time, the court issued its ruling and denied the motion for preliminary approval of the settlement agreement. The court has not issued an opinion explaining its reasoning at this time, but the court has scheduled a status conference for August 19, 2024 and a new tentative trial date for Le for October 28, 2024.

“The Company is evaluating all of its options, including, without limitation, an appeal, and has also initiated discussions with plaintiffs’ counsel, who have expressed a willingness to engage in separate settlement discussions for the Le and Johnson cases. A motion to dismiss the complaint in Johnson remains pending and no trial date has been set.”

Boulware had previously expressed concerns that he objected to the settlement because the agreed upon payout seemed low and 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.

Now the stage is set for a potential trial unless UFC and the fighters involved in the lawsuits can potentially come to some sort of new agreement to settle the case.

Eric Cramer, the lead attorney representing the fighters, told Boulware prior to the ruling that he hoped the settlement agreement would be approved because the risk involved going to trial could end in UFC’s favor, which means the athletes wouldn’t get paid anything.

A jury trial in an antitrust lawsuit such as this one has to end in an unanimous verdict, and even if the fighters won, UFC would inevitably file an appeal that could tie up the case for years before the athletes would see any potential money.

After the judge ultimately disagreed and denied the settlement agreement, Cramer issued a statement to MMA Fighting regarding the ruling.

”Plaintiffs respect the Court’s ruling rejecting the proposed global resolution of the Le and Johnson cases, and accordingly will be moving forward full speed on all fronts as directed by the Court,” Cramer said. “We now plan on ramping up preparations in Le for the imminent trial, and also will begin pressing forward with discovery in Johnson. At the same time, with the interests of our clients and the classes at the forefront, we are also open to reengaging with the UFC to see whether the parties could reach a settlement building off of the momentum achieved in the prior settlement, but working to satisfy the Court’s expressed concerns with that resolution.

“In particular, to eliminate several of the issues expressed by the Court regarding the prior proposed combined settlement of Le and Johnson, Plaintiffs believe the best path forward, if a new settlement becomes a possibility, is to attempt to resolve the two cases separately, focusing first on the Le case given its imminent trial date, and using the progress made to date as a jumping off point for further discussions. Thus, while Plaintiffs’ focus will be on preparing for trial, we are keeping an open mind with respect to a potential new resolution. At root, Plaintiffs want nothing more and nothing less than justice for the professional MMA fighters we have represented for more than ten years in the most efficient and effective way possible.”

Judge Boulware is expected to issue his full ruling regarding his decision to deny the settlement agreement in the coming days. For now, UFC and the fighters are expected to go back to court in August for a status conference, where a new trial date will be officially determined unless a new settlement is reached by then.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

After seeing Leon Edwards come up short against Belal Muhammad, coach Dave Lovell would like to see his fighter bounce back against rising Irish contender Ian Machado Garry.

Edwards’ uninspiring performance against ‘Remember The Name’ at UFC 304 cost him the win and the welterweight world title. Considering how decisively things played out, ‘Rocky’ and his team recognize that an immediate rematch is a pretty tall ask.

Instead, Edwards’ longtime coach believes the ex-champ can get right back into the mix with a win over the division’s No. 7 ranked contender.

“I’d like to see Leon fight Ian Garry,” Lovell said in an interview with Submission Radio. “Obviously we can keep it British based, either Ireland or over here,” Lovell said. “Obviously the little background story we had going back last year is a — he’s looking for a scalp. Now Leon’s not champion, he may think well, he’s a good scalp for him to get to obviously march on to get a championship belt or title shot.

“For Leon, if Leon beats him, that then puts him at the back of the queue and then maybe if they want one more before he fights Belal, if Belal’s still got the belt, well that’ll be the future move, the future plan” (h/t MMA News).

Now could be the perfect time for Leon Edwards and Ian Machado Garry to settle things inside the octagon

Aside from their status as top 10 contenders, Leon Edwards and Ian Machado Garry have a bit of history with one another.

Last year, ‘The Future’ claimed that he was kicked out of Edwards’ gym, Team Renegade in Birmingham, England, and accused Edwards of feeling insecure by having a potential future title challenger training alongside him. However, Team Renegade quickly disputed Garry’s statement, revealing that the Irish up-and-comer was simply not contributing to the culture of their gym.

That was seemingly corroborated by both Sean Brady and Veronica Hardy who revealed in separate interviews that Garry had been booted from multiple gyms over the years due to poor etiquette.

Adding fuel to the fire was Paddy Pimblett who went on to claim that Edwards had once KO’d Garry during a training session.

Garry seemingly confirmed the rumor in a video on Instagram following a trip to the local hospital:

“Anyone watch the Leon Edwards [vs. Kamaru] Usman fight? Anyone know how that went? One of the best head kicks in the UFC—Yeah, I might have felt what that kick felt like…”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by ‘The Future’ Ian Machado Garry (@iangarry)

LowKickMMA.com

As Dricus Du Plessis prepares to defend his middleweight title at UFC 305 for the first time, two of his former opponents could be set to meet in a huge clash.

Both former champions Robert Whittaker and Sean Strickland have claims to be the next in line for a title shot after Israel Adesanya.

Though Strickland believes he doesn’t need to fight again to get the next opportunity, a number one contender’s match-up would make a lot of sense for the division.

Having faced and defeated both men, Du Plessis finds this fight difficult to call but he did give his analysis and prediction.

Dricus Du Plessis Says Grappling Exchange Key To Whittaker vs. Strickland

Du Plessis has remained on the fence in the past when being asked about this fight because he didn’t have a clear image in his head of the way that it takes place.

He spoke during a recent interview with mainevent on Fox Sports where after giving it some thought, he broke down how he sees it going.

Du Plessis said the crucial element for both men is being able to utilize their greatest strengths, whether it’s the pressure of Strickland or the blitz assault from Whittaker.

He gave the bold prediction that this one could come down to who wins the grappling exchanges despite both men being known for their striking.

If this is the case, he sided with “The Reaper” to get his hand raised.

“The fact that I really honestly can’t say off the bat means it’s gonna be a great fight. I honestly think it’s going to come down to the same thing, imposing game plans. If you let Strickland walk forward like he did with Paulo Costa and like he did with Israel Adesanya, if you give him that space and that momentum, it’s really really hard to take it back and it’s really hard to swing that fight. So, to make sure that Rob fights his fight. If Rob can do his blitzes the way he does then I think he takes that fight. I think it comes down to a wrestling and clinch game and I think Rob wins that fight.”

Read also: VIDEO: Sean O’Malley & Merab Dvalishvili Go Back & Forth While Face To Face For UFC 306 Promo

Continue Reading Dricus Du Plessis Predicts How Potential ‘Title Eliminator’ Sean Strickland vs. Robert Whittaker Would Go: ‘I Think It Comes Down To…’ at MMA News.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Hamdy Abdelwahab just received another drug suspension.

On Wednesday, UFC’s anti-doping program announced Abdelwahab has accepted a six-month sanction for exogenous testosterone relating to multiple samples taken this year.

Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD) revealed Abdelwahab failed three separate tests this year on March 23, May 3, and May 23. However, since Abdelwahab was not informed of the first failure, and the third failure was deemed to be a product of residual amounts, all three incidents were treated as one violation.

This is not the first issue Abdelwahab has had with drug testing. In 2022, the Egyptian fighter received a two-year ban from USADA for testing positive for the anabolic agent metenolone and its metabolite in two drug screenings ahead of his UFC debut, along with a tampering violation for failing to disclose his banned substance prior to joining the USADA program.

In contrast to his 2022 failure, after being notified of his failure, Abdelwahab was able to provide evidence of a tainted dietary supplement. Normally this would result in only a three-month suspension, however since he was still under suspension from his 2022 violation at the time, the sanction doubled to six months.

Abdelwahab’s previous suspension ended on July 30, however his new suspension now means “The Hammer” will now be ineligible to compete until Jan. 30, 2025.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

The UFC is back in Abu Dhabi.

This Saturday, the UFC returns to the UAE with a banger of a Fight Night card, headlined by a bantamweight bout between Umar Nurmagomedov and Cory Sandhagen and the No Bets Barred boys are back with a full breakdown of the event.

Co-hosts Conner Burks and Jed Meshew kick things off with a brief discussion of UFC 304 and both of their winning weeks before diving into UFC Abu Dhabi. Can Nurmagomedov live up to his familial name or will Sandhagen reestablish himself as the top contender at bantamweight? Can Chito Vera rebound with a win against former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo? Is Shara Bullet actually good?

All that plus some boxing talk and even a brief chat about Olympic wrestling on this week’s episode.

Tune in for episode 96 of No Bets Barred.

New episodes of the No Bets Barred podcast drop every Wednesday and are available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever else you find your favorite podcasts. The latest episode can be heard below.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Banger!
| BJPenn.com