Contempt from the Court: The fate of the UFC antitrust settlement

Judge Boulware telegraphs his concern for fighters

Judge Richard Boulware

Barring a dramatic change in the proposed UFC fighter antitrust settlement, we are likely speeding toward a trial date for the Cung Le class of retired fighters.

What you are about to read is the most extensive reporting and analysis of the major issues raised by Judge Boulware to plaintiff’s attorney Eric Cramer and Team UFC on Friday, July 12th, in a Las Vegas Federal court room.

What is very clear after this latest court hearing is that neither the plaintiffs nor the defendants are anywhere close to what Judge Boulware is demanding from any proposed UFC antitrust settlement. In many respects, this case now feels like Le vs. Zuffa vs. Boulware in a three-way antitrust struggle session.

The absence of Endeavor’s key attorneys from the July 12th court hearing was a huge tell that Team UFC misread Judge Boulware’s previous statements and intentions.

If Team UFC thought this settlement was a done deal, they badly miscalculated.

TKO — the combination of UFC and WWE — is a cash flow volcano, spewing rivers of money in Endeavor’s direction.

Few business analysts understood that the combination of UFC & WWE would turbocharge the Endeavor engine. The Hollywood trades were especially dismissive, treating both combat sports/entertainment monopolies as strictly minor league as if Ari Emanuel was playing with toys in a sandbox.

But Mr. Emanuel and his right-hand Mark Shapiro understood long ago the UFC and WWE are huge repositories of political, financial, and cultural power.

Since the proposed antitrust settlement was announced a few months ago, the price of TKO’s stock has exploded. This has made a lot of insiders very, very rich — at least on paper. The $335 million proposed settlement — structured into three payments — has been seen by insiders and institutional investors as a huge win.

Clearly, Judge Boulware has been carefully observing the fallout from the proposed UFC antitrust settlement.

And he does not appear satisfied with the answers he heard in his Court.

Editor’s note: This article is being published before Judge Boulware has formally issued his tentative ruling for approval or rejection of the proposed preliminary UFC antitrust settlement. Judge Boulware promised a ruling the week after this court hearing but has not done so.

When the judge’s formal order is released, Zach will publish a brief summary item for MMA Draw subscribers. However, today’s article serves as the most detailed account about the current issues at stake in this antitrust lawsuit.

Executive Summary

Please take note that no recording devices are allowed in a Federal courtroom unless that court has their own cameras (e.g. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals).

Additionally, there is a three-month embargo on PACER to access this court transcript. The transcript is available through the court reporter and at the courthouse.

We’ll start with a quick bullet point summary of highlights from the July 12th court hearing with Judge Boulware.