In February last year, the UFC settled its long-standing antitrust lawsuit, Zuffa vs. Le, with a $375 million agreement. According to the settlement, the promotion is obligated to financially compensate 1,100 fighters who competed from December 2010 to June 2014. So far, Dana White and Co. have reportedly paid most of the fighters, but there appears to be a delay in paying the rest.

As per prominent journalist John S. Nash, the UFC has successfully paid 90% of the eligible fighters from the agreed settlement pool. However, Berger Montague, the lead law firm, revealed that the company has paid a little over $237 million of the $375 million settlement. In that case, the promotion still owes about $138 million to the remaining 10% fighters involved in the lawsuit. Now, what’s the reason for the delay?

According to the plaintiffs, there are four major reasons why the UFC is delaying payments to the remaining 10% of fighters. They are as follows:

• Reportedly, there are 17 fighters who aren’t receiving funds due to sanctions. Because they live in nations legally sanctioned by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control, processing the payments has faced constraints.
• Ten fighters who are eligible to receive money from the lawsuit are currently entangled in internal legal battles such as divorce and other issues that could potentially trigger liens filed by the IRS, which are public legal claims against property.
• Next are inheritance-related problems. The lawsuit was filed back in 2014, and several eligible fighters have passed away since then. As a result, stakeholders are still determining how to distribute payments to their beneficiaries.
• Lastly, some fighters allegedly have outstanding child support obligations, which is also contributing to the delay in payouts.

Now that the reasons behind the delay are being cleared, the law firm Berger Montague, which represents the fighters, has assured that it is working to release the remaining payments to eligible athletes under the Zuffa vs. Le lawsuit.

“We are working around the clock to distribute settlement payments to the remaining claimants,” Berger Montague said.

For those unaware, 35 athletes reportedly received over a million dollars in settlement money. Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva has apparently topped the list with $10 million, while Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey reportedly received $9 million each.

Now, as the UFC and other legal bodies face issues in paying out the remaining fighters, another legal development involving Paramount+ is unfolding, and the situation is definitely serious.

UFC broadcasting partner Paramount+ chairman sued for $150 million

The UFC began its historic $7.7 billion broadcasting partnership with Paramount+ CBS this year. But just a few months into the alliance, a significant lawsuit has landed at the door of Paramount-Skydance’s top brass, Jeff Shell. According to a Sportico report, renowned professional gambler and FBI informant R.J. Cipriani has filed a legal complaint against Shell in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

The report states that Cipriani’s attorneys submitted a 67-page complaint against Shell for breaching an oral contract after Paramount reformatted a Spanish TV show, Serenata de las Estrellas, co-produced by Cipriani, which never got off the ground. As per the documents presented in court, the Paramount+ president allegedly broke “a clear promise to help [the] plaintiff develop an English-language version.”

Along with that, Cipriani also claimed that he provided the UFC’s current broadcasting partners with “sophisticated, high-value crisis communications services,” essentially high-level consultation. However, according to the FBI informant, those services went unpaid. As a result of these mounting issues, Cipriani has sued Shell for over $150 million in damages.

That said, what do you think about the UFC and its ongoing legal situations across multiple lawsuits? Let us know in the comments section below.