14 Key Details About The Class Action Lawsuit Against UFC

8. The UFC Allegedly Refused To Work With Sponsors Who Worked With Rival Promotions

This may seem like a non-issue - after all, who wants to work with sponsors who are working with competing promotions? However, there's a problem: sponsors sponsor fighters, not the UFC. In essence, the UFC barred sponsors who, for example, sponsored a Bellator fighter, from sponsoring a UFC fighter. Note that this is not a practice that the suit alleges occurred at all times. Directly from the suit:

...throughout most of the Class Period, the UFC refused to contract withany sponsor who agreed to work with an actual or potential rival MMA Promotion company or Fighter under contract with another MMA Promoter, whether an actual or potential rival, and prohibited these sponsors from appearing on UFC Fighters during UFC events.

In recent times, this may have become less of an issue, hence the wording "throughout most of the Class Period" (period covered by the suit). Of late, you could see Dynamic Fastener's name, for example, on the shorts of both Bellator and UFC fighters. That's not to say the UFC didn't play hardball in the past. Then you have the Reebok deal, which has cut out sponsors altogether. That's going to add a huge twist to the case.