Ariel Helwani Reacts to UFC’s Antitrust Lawsuits Settlement | The MMA Hour

Ariel Helwani starts the show with the news that the UFC settled its pair of antitrust lawsuits and what it means.
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[@omgcrisbreezy]

Boys folded like lawn chairs

[@craigman7262]

Saw that money 😂

[@stephenbartlett1167]

It looks like it

[@coldestbeer]

All your morals have a price

[@travistarr9433]

I never want to hear about fighter pay again

[@hbkkidcorrupt]

Lawyers saw the money,advised clients to take it and run.No integrity or accountability in the world due to financial corruption.

[@FightSportTalk]

This is not a loss for the UFC, 335 Million is nothing to them, no contract changes, at least yet and after 10 years the fighters basically went out on a wimper, when they were so close to trial. Strange.

[@mr.brenman2132]

335 million is a huge amount of money. The UFC isn't NFL, NBA, MLB, or NHL in terms of revenue. Maybe you have that mixed up.

[@FightSportTalk]

@@mr.brenman2132I've talked in my recent video about how much money the UFC generated in revenue. Its over a billion per year for the last few. Therefore this barely affects them.

[@2wheeled76]

@@mr.brenman2132what are you talking about? UCF’s 2023 earnings alone was 1.7B! 7x the settlement, which the UFC gets to pay over time and gets to write off. Basically like a home owner having to pay $8k for roof repairs over 10 years and he gets to write off for taxes.

[@Thunderfist_McBeefcake]

@@mr.brenman2132 They net that each year. They’ll live.

[@PlaydoughPlato]

@@mr.brenman2132gate at 299 was like what 140 mil in one night? And the fighters getting like 4-5k lmao they’re printing money

[@LT-sz1fj]

The lawyers are the real winners

[@WardenOfTerra]

They will pocket over £100mil lol

[@hbkkidcorrupt]

Pays to get that edumacation i guess

[@simonlee498]

​@@hbkkidcorrupt two not to I went to skool of Reddit

[@willthorburn1985]

Horrible. 30% goes to the legal teams and what's left is divided to 1200 fighters that signed on as plaintiffs. They made no impact on the sport while settling for chump change.

[@PoopythePlumber]

It was always about money not change a lot of them are broke as a joke so 120k is good enough for them

[@HARwinsOUTagain]

​@@PoopythePlumber That is not what was advertised by Cung Le and all those lawyers. Years of going on podcasts talking about changing the sport... bait and switch.

[@dfpguitar]

Taking away the UFC's anti competitive and exploitative practices may have destroyed or seriously diminished its profitability. If they simultaneously had to pay out a 1.5 billion dollars to the plaintiffs it could have decimated the company.

[@megamanxhunter]

The problem with that kind of a lawsuit against a corporation that big is time. Even if the plaintiffs won if it went to trial, TKO would appeal and drag it out. The 1st lawsuit was filed back in 2014, it took 9 years to get a class certification. TKO can afford to drag it out as long as they can, the fighters can't. Ask Randy Couture.

[@thefishingfool3397]

They don't deserve anything regardless. They know what they signed up for

[@JangoMike]

Didnt change anything and a few guys got some shakedown money while the lawyers make out like bandits....lol

[@craigman7262]

Like I’ve said. Fighters are Everyman for themselves 😂

[@FighterMindset2024]

After a 10 year long battle, they might walk away with 100k each. I hope they atleast made them pay their lawyer fees if they agreed to it.

[@boreduser12]

335,000,000 divided by 1200 fighters is $280,000 per fighter minus tax because of course the little guy has to pay tax whereas the big guy gets a tax break 😂 this f'ng world.

[@Astro.98]

That’s capitalist society for you

[@LT-sz1fj]

How much of that goes to the lawyers

[@user-ko7nk9pc9t]

The attorneys get approximately 100 million

[@Ty-oe4dr]

each fighter will probably get 100k at the end of it

[@przemysawmarcisz3573]

@@LT-sz1fj Luke Thomas said around 1/3 goes to cover legal expenses

[@UAPReportingCenter]

Mark Coleman: one of the first UFC champions needs a Go Fund me to live. Shame on the UFC!

[@SLICKNICK_LIVE]

what are you talking about. if mark was broke he wouldn't of replaced his dog with a new dog two days okay. glad mark is okay but you actling like he on life support. mark was in the gym already training.

[@YumYumTV-wt4si]

The UFC was losing money when Mark was a champion.

[@Pooki2024]

Mark coleman is a multi millionaire, what the fudge are you talking about ?

[@travistarr9433]

Should have been better with his finances.

[@El-gordo_]

This just shows these fighters will never unionize and no one can blame them it’s in their nature to be competitive , but damn boxers are lucky to not deal with this

[@EJ-bq1nu]

10k show 10k win contracts will be the industry standard for as long as the UFC wants now 😅

[@megaham1552]

There are problems with boxing but the future of the MMA landscape looks grim

[@mr.brenman2132]

The UFC isn't a monopoly and there are plenty of legal monopolies.

[@mr.brenman2132]

​@@megaham1552Boxing has to do Elderly Tyson vs KZbinr to remain relevant. The MMA landscape is far more promising.

[@EJ-bq1nu]

@@mr.brenman2132 There are emails where they openly state they bought Pride and Strikeforce with the intention to kill off competition and control industry standards 😬

[@Unclesteve16]

Looks like the price for PPV’s just went up! 😂

[@Thiernodjo]

Espn set the PPv price not UFC

[@hbkkidcorrupt]

Didnt u hear?Monopoly is still on so espn can charge whatever they want too 💀

[@nutmegriot209]

I’ll stop watching mma before paying for another ppv. Let the rich fans pay $1k per card, everything is destroyed anyway

[@matthewrooney1829]

After everything they settle???

[@braddrummond9500]

30% goes to the legal teams and what's left is divided to 1200 fighters that signed on as plaintiffs which means 194k goes to each fighter, big deal they basically got 5 to 6 years of minimum wage job, great job guys we are really impressed.

[@dan_marino4]

backhanded compliment 😂

[@bback4072]

@@dan_marino4no sir that is a front handed insult lol

[@AJourneyOfYourSoul]

This is exactly why there will never be a union. Everybody is out for themselves. Show these boys a little money, around 195k each after the lawyers take their cut, and they folded.

[@Crowinroosterfarm]

I think it will be less than 195k. I would assume the lawyers could be billing up to 40% of total

[@AJourneyOfYourSoul]

@@Crowinroosterfarm wouldn’t surprise me. Probably somewhere between a third and a half.

[@jonasjorgensen8759]

​@@AJourneyOfYourSoulplus taxes

[@lyleburlingame2276]

TKO stock went up 5% immediately after the announcement

[@davo-ju6er]

Ariel - GROW THE AFRO !

[@quasarleon4645]

335 Million$$ or as Uncle Dana calls it : A rounding Error !

[@mr.brenman2132]

Only people that know nothing about business think 335 million is a small number. The UFC isn't the NFL.

[@2wheeled76]

@@mr.brenman2132it’s a very small number for the NFL. It’s a small number for the UFC. Especially considering their fighter pay and internal pay cap vs NFL.

[@Cozmo1994]

@@mr.brenman2132 yeah. that means the ufc might only make 1.3 billion in profit this year... Damn, what will they ever do

[@EJ-bq1nu]

These dummies wasted 10 years just to fold like lawn chairs. The fighters act like they love being broke and taken advantage of and want to see fellow fighters fail. Corporate greed and monopoly wins again, have fun signing 10 fight deals making less than 100k a fight and never getting any leverage for anything like sponsors or TV deals.

[@jimmicrackhead12]

Did strikeforce or k1 pay more?

[@EJ-bq1nu]

@@jimmicrackhead12 They both gave a significantly higher percentage of their overall revenue share to the fighters and allowed for sponsors and weren't companies worth billions of dollars. The point you think you're making doesn't exist because the comparison is not 1-1.

[@jimmicrackhead12]

@@EJ-bq1nu my point is that over time there has been some what of a going rate for MMA fighters, which UFC paid

[@jimmicrackhead12]

@@EJ-bq1nu UFC would be dumb to pay more than they needed too, AND all those other MMA promotions lost millions due to over paying their fighters- didn't they?

[@IamnotJokic]

What was the point of this lawsuit if they were just going to settle

[@jozefhorniak8191]

to get a life changing money?

[@lacewavy]

It wasn’t life changing money if you do the math

[@Cozmo1994]

@@jozefhorniak8191 about 200k to each fighter.

[@IamnotJokic]

@@jozefhorniak8191 I guess you don’t know how class action lawsuits work.

[@Pippinm7]

The whole point is to settle unfortunately, neither side actually wants to go to court…common practice.

[@LT-sz1fj]

Fighters never wanted change😂😂it was show me the money from the start

[@megamanxhunter]

I think they wanted change. But the problem is you have to also deal with the legal reality. Having studied law and being in a lawsuit myself with a corporation, the problem is how long can you really do this, because it's financially draining. A big entity like Endeavor can afford to drag it out by filing appeals and stalling the process, the plaintiffs can't afford it for that long. FYI, the 1st lawsuit was granted class certification in the summer of 2023, and it was filed back in 2014.

[@jonasjorgensen8759]

​@@megamanxhunter what stops someone from suing ufc on the same grounds in the future?

[@geloo.7686]

There's a clause in UFC contract now that I can't sue them anymore, MMA on point made a video about it.

[@megamanxhunter]

@@geloo.7686 That's not exactly true. What you're mentioning is the antitrust waiver, which bars fighters from participating in antitrust lawsuits. Furthermore, there's an arbitration clause in ufc contracts.

[@renegadeoffunk32]

At least we'll get to squirm watching Dana answer those questions. Nothing he hates more. Although knowing him he'll suppress the MMA media as usual and they'll all bow down to his will.

[@miked9639]

Yeah, he'll have Nina Drama asking him the f*** questions.

[@olbapoli4074]

Yeah sure..Nina drama and Steve from nelk boys asking the questions

[@miked9639]

@@olbapoli4074 haha true, I forgot about those dorks.

[@listenup7284]

What on earth are you talking about? This is one of Danas biggest victories. He's probably going to do a press tour just to laugh about it. He's loving it.

[@dan_marino4]

If only Ariel wasn’t banned 😂

[@theguvnor3880]

MMA media should stop talking about fighter pay now. The fighters have made their beds, now let them lie in it.

[@BackToWar100]

Old fighters not many are still in UFC who signed there.

[@usmanchaudhry6678]

PERSPECTIVE: #UFC Fighters settled the lawsuit for $30M more than Ari Emanuel's 2021 salary of $300M #TKO is expected to double the current ESPN TV rights deal from $300M to $600M PER YEAR by next year so the fighters got 1 year of OLD television rights fees for a lifetime of health issues and mental retardation.. #UFC Fighters share will likely be about roughly less than $240M after LEGAL FEES. # Averages about $158k per fighter on average roughly about.

[@Jmansummers]

Tax write-off lmao

[@marcgottlieb9579]

Nobody will receive a dime..The UFC will file for bankruptcy in 2025..

[@Alanaboo912]

Since the majority of these fighter are already retired and did not get support from the active fighters, these retired basically said F yall current fighters we'll just get what we can get on our way out

[@usmanchaudhry6678]

This settled because the lawyers didn't want to wait and wanted to get paid their legal fees. $100M / one legal team is ALOT MORE than $230M / 1400 fighters

[@UAPReportingCenter]

I’m surprised the UFC settled this and disappointed that the plaintiffs did not take it to trial and force the UFC to either admit guilt or be found guilty. Just just shows they were in it for money which I don’t blame them but I don’t know what ramifications this will have for the future.. It’s long long past time that the fighters earn a greater share of the earnings because right now it’s despicable. There is former UFC champions, almost homeless, and barely scraping by.

[@jakemiller270]

So i don't need to waste time watching Bellator/PFL? Not sure why the fighters took so little but it is a win for me.

[@trivialmatter169]

335 million to a multi billion dollar company is a drop in the ocean, this is a huge win for Dana and the ufc. The ufc are building stadiums that are worth one billion for one stadium. Fighters will get next to nothing out of this. $100-$150 million minimum to the lawyers and the scraps split amongst the fighters. Only the big names will get big payments. Well done ufc and suck it up Ariel

[@Beeydb163]

UFC W right there. lol we all knew these fighters would sell out but for that amount 🤣 what a joke. After lawyer fees they’ll be getting something like 194k per fighter. But after 10 years I guess it’s better to leave with some money. But I think we are all shocked they settled for that money

[@OverproofMMA]

Big loss for the lawyer behind the lawsuit. He happens to be the president of the only union in MMA, the MMAFA and was angling his lawsuit to get the courts to force the UFC to allow their fighters to unionize under his union. Average union president salary in America is $175k. I guess there were holes in their case and he contented himself with %30 of that $335m settlement.

[@paulwilczynski6974]

The fighters settled for the short money. It's a big win for the ufc.

[@Wonderlaust]

If divided by 1200, each fighter will get roughly $125,000-$150,000 after taxes and lawyer fees. After 10 years, it basically means they earned $12,500 - $15,000 a year fighting it 😅

[@jasperhart1188]

Lawyers become millionaires , fighters get enough money for a nose job and new teeth

[@GenghisKhan311]

Its a huge day for lawyer's around the world. Not so much for ufc fighter's

[@HD-fc4ds]

Only 325 to keep monopoly on.😂 Dana can pay that out of his wallet and still has a hundred mil left

[@rollin60z]

Ufc shouldve took it to court, the others folded so fast and settled for peanuts 😂 seems like they knew they weren't gonna win

[@bback4072]

Typical MMA mentality. People looking out for themselves instead of doing whats best for the sport and future fighters. Big win for the UFC

[@TheGeorgia16]

Everyone tries to act like UFC is the same as the NFL, MLB or NBA. It’s a completely different business. If each MMA Team (CKB, ATT, etc.) then it would be closer to the other sports and the UFC wouldn’t be fully responsible for keeping the doors open and running a profitable business. Right now the UFC is closer to big construction companies that hire contractors to work than any of the other big sports leagues.

[@ghagzor]

No it isnt. Contractors can work for more than 1 client/company

[@jonasjorgensen8759]

​@@ghagzor exactly, op is just arrogant 😂

[@hbkkidcorrupt]

Oh buddy,drinking that Dana koolaid

[@boreduser12]

Deductible for tax purposes. Hahahaha Everything the UFC does is just to make sure they keep their money.

[@lordsoftherealm2752]

Dana would have fought this to the end if it was pre TKO

[@bonesgo3973]

The Canadian is giving us a political lesson. Right now nothing is stopping Uncle Joe and the Democrats from passing anything for the UFC fighters.

[@robchampagne1032]

Paid out over years... Tax right off for UFC... Big win for the UFC

[@williamswilliams8164]

People mad at the number But the lawyers taking 30% doesn’t make you guys upset at all It’s insanity and all good with it

[@tabormarshall7682]

Ariel salty asf

[@WardenOfTerra]

They should've taken it to trial. There's no reason not to. Cung Le is a clown.

[@SunAndMirror]

The legal system needs to change. Takes way too long, while damage continues to be done, and typically, Justice is never really served. Its so frustrating on every level...stick the lawyers and judges in the Octagon.

[@RobVole1]

Pretty sad. All the guys not standing on what they said they were fighting for. Pitiful.

[@keithkellogg5325]

9 years ago said they would nerve pay a dime we done nothing wrong these guys are delusional.Dana your right it wasn’t a dime

[@kalanikiaaina7636]

Lol. Your right but the fighters on this lawsuit are gonna get peanuts lol

[@BigMicahC]

What a dork. It's obvious they didn't feel that strong about their case because the fighters don't care about this as much as the Press does.

[@nicholasdonin1465]

When the target was over a billion and a half, 335 mill is nothing. Did the ufc fold or was the plaintiffs' case so weak that 335 mill settlement more appealing than nothing cuz they didn't think they could win. 335 million is far less a loss to the Ufc than its a gain to the fighter side

[@truthseea5473]

As a fan of ufc over the past decade plus , I’m so disappointed in this settlement , a really dissatisfying outcome for the future , I wish Francis was the head Lawyer he has principals and integrity and would have stood fast for the fighters , FFS !!!!

[@davidmyeah5595]

When ufc say 2 million pay per view 1 event that night alone pays every law suit in last 2 decades

[@DGillian6406]

Wow! So each fighter listed in the class action suit gets 334 million $$ ??!!! Thffg

[@fightographyae1]

So no more fighter pay talk ever again, got it, MMA Media?

[@funkspinna]

That will really reduce material to talk about for Luke Thomas

[@thewraithize]

The only winner here are the lawyers

[@mutondukalota6098]

Its always about the money

[@ryanbuckner2405]

335 in the hand is better than 885 in the bush!

[@juancarlosfranco8866]

The ufc was probably gonna loose that trial which is why they decided to settle

[@princenero1212]

335 million is a drop in the bucket should of been closer to a billion

[@jayramos6942]

Sounds like the ufc was paying the leader of the mmfa. This guy got paid millions to do nothing & convince the fighters to settle.

[@cosme2032]

How did IRS agree to this?

[@coreyreid9997]

Not much fight in that settlement. I thought MMA guys were tough. This seems like a complete lay down. Shameful, truly shameful. Im obviously not them, but I would have taken my chances in trial even knowing if I lost id have to cover opposing counsels costs.

[@williamboyle8918]

Biggest fan for years. Need to upgrade. Becoming The Phil Donahue Show.

[@mpaulo6222]

But then the fighters will never unite, they just care about their own

[@randycruz2007]

Hopefully the fighters didn’t sell out, the point of this was for them to fight for the UFC changing the way they do contracts with the fighters, I would say, that’s the biggest change that needs to be done, if they’re not employees of the UFC why are they not allowed to go fight in other organizations and make extra money.

[@BoandShaq]

Hey Ariel, I’m a law student at Georgetown; would love to come on and talk to you about the antitrust suit!

[@hbkkidcorrupt]

Settlement and tax deduction all at once 😂😂,cant make this up

[@keithkellogg5325]

How much does each fighter get?

[@thenedsmmachannel8970]

Not even 200K lmao

[@NRC613]

Some might get million. Some might get 10k 1200 fighters and only a couple fought for thier rights Of those that fought for those rights only a dozen known by mma fans and whom made the ufc money .

[@stephenbartlett1167]

$280,000 per fighter BEFORE lawyer fees and taxes. Peanuts

[@NRC613]

@@stephenbartlett1167 no wrong

[@jonasjorgensen8759]

​@@NRC613160 k before taxes

[@eaglewinnings8003]

At the end of the day none of this was about helping fighter’s of the future. This was broke fighters trying to get paid. Nothing wrong with that, but don’t act like you’re trying to better the future of all fighters

[@Alex-oy6wb]

About $279k if divided by 1200…but like I said…not divided equally plus attorney fees

[@Daygosd619]

So does the ufc have to pay or the Fertittas brothers have to pay since these fighters were when the brothers owned it. Or I wonder if the brothers made a deal in the contract when selling, if any cases come up, you guys have to pay it.

[@olbapoli4074]

Overall this is a win for the UFC...not cos they only paid 350m...it was more to do with the other part of the claim i.e. potentially impact on fighter contracts. If settlement is solely for damages and no change to contracts then UFC win. Simple as that.

[@tankguy1981]

The fighters sold out! 😂 They were supposedly fighting to bring about change for all future fighters. Sell outs!

[@MrJcologne]

Awful coverage especially since he’s been crying about this for over a decade.

[@BackToWar100]

Ariel, democracy, for sure they voted and that won . These new fighters after the sale should unite and have an union if they want more money. But right now there is no monopoly, I can name more then 15 fighting leagues only MMA , Caposa can name more then 50 or after a quick research.

[@KFBALL247]

You can sum it up in a few sentences. The fighters folded and took the bag. UFC wins. And really screws today’s current fighters and future fighters(and promotions). UFC still has a monopoly. It was all obviously a money grab, not an attempt to do good for the sport. Pretty lame and weak IMO.

[@altoidosgood]

Let's put it to bed. F the fighter pay crap.

[@jamess3408]

Tax deductible means effectively they are losing £0 from this settlement. The tax man is the only lover here.

[@ricoamordavila7496]

If you wanna change UFC core values, STOP GIVING THEM YOUR MONEY. They hate you when they sided with budlight and laughing at you when you mentioned the Ali Act in MMA. Aling with fighter pay. THEY HATE ALL OF YOU.. THATS WHY THEY THEY CHARGE MORE FOR ESPN+ AND PPV

[@jasperhart1188]

The lawyers and dana , behind closed doors

[@lhdk5946]

Tko tko’d the lawsuit

[@charliec2966]

DANA WHITE IS UNTOUCHABLE. DANA WINS AGAIN. MODERN DAY GANGSTER. UNTOUCHABLE.

[@jasonroy1890]

335 million split between 1200+fighters is not alot of money after lawyer fees and Uncle Sam take their cut. 50k each.

[@Crowinroosterfarm]

Or less

[@TelvinKipapa]

I hope the court dismisses this. These guys are idiots. $300 mil from a billion dollar company & UFC can still be a monopoly.

[@kalanikiaaina7636]

How is the ufc a monopoly? There's other promotions to fight for and you don't have to sign any contracts till your at least happy with it, if not don't sign

[@bubblewhip382]

You can't dismiss a settlement wtf are you talking sbout

[@eaglewinnings8003]

$335M lol. UFC will profit more than that from UFC 300 alone. They’re the big dogs, they have the better attorney’s. The plaintiffs had mediocre attorneys who wanted to move on quickly and not drag this out will getting their piece of the pie immediately. If this is a tax write off UFC could literally pay this back in a year without digging into their profits for a single cent. What a joke.

[@Meddyb]

10 years of lawyer fees

[@AustinAcGuy]

Good.

[@regularbob]

can you guys cut out the outdo?? Dude, it is annoying AF.

[@ricardorodriguez-ci2ze]

You can see how hard Ariel gets when it’s anything bad about UFC. LOL

[@travistarr9433]

Dana White wins again. Free Market.

[@hbkkidcorrupt]

Free market 💀

[@williamowens1325]

Try your best to shut em down and then you won't have a job ariel

[@SBGMember]

Happy Ariel? You have been rooting for the demise of the UFC for almost a decade now. Does this make you happy?

[@barhooo9742]

The UFC won

[@tuffneggah]

luke thomas coping bad rn

[@chrisjohnson8008]

That would be the least of Donald trumps worries with everything going on in the world

[@raurimckenna]

Thank you now stop talking about fighter pay lol this is so funny. Ariel and co. just like.... ahhh yep so they didn't win aaaaaaaaand let's move right along. After talking about it non stop for 10 years. Imagine if they won. Another 10-7 Ariel? Mmmm didn't think so. Dana 10 Ariel 3.

[@jimmicrackhead12]

Lets be real- no mma or kick boxing organisations paid much more than ufc did. Pride, strikeforce, bellator, k1- all paid about the same if you have been following over the decades

[@jm12green31]

John Nash and those guys from bloody elbow apparently got wiped out from Dana. Always enjoyed them and of course thou shalt not criticize The dictator

[@diceydie-c]

Im so disappointed 🤦‍♂️

[@UAPReportingCenter]

Disappointed

[@elvisherrera960]

The traditional MMA media like the schmo will likely not speak or ask any question about it during media days or on there youtube 😂 instead they will ask 10× how was camp and " How do you feel fighting in Las Vegas the Meca"😂 then cuff danas balls and tell him he's a free speech hero even though he sililences and blacklists anyone asking questions or doing things he doesn't like lol FYI blacklisted Arial Helwani 😂