14 Key Details About The Class Action Lawsuit Against UFC
7. The UFC Allegedly Blocked Sponsorship Deals For Fighters - Then Made The Deals For Themselves
This one, if true, is rather dirty. According to the text of the lawsuit,
The UFCs scheme also enables the UFC to unjustifiably obtain lucrative exclusive event sponsorship deals for itself. Consider just two examples involving Quinton Jackson (Jackson). Jackson negotiated a deal with a company called Round 5 to develop an action figure based upon his Rampage persona. The UFC blocked the deal, and subsequently entered into its own deal with Round 5 for the production of UFC action fgures, a line that included Jacksons likeness. Likewise, Jackson negotiated a deal with Reebok for sponsorship, which had not been approved by the UFC, and the UFC used its dominance to block Jacksons proposed sponsorship deal with Reebok in order to subsequently obtain a deal for itself.
That seems a lot like directly stealing from fighters, so it will be interesting to see the defense they offer. Jackson very publicly complained about the Reebok deal being blocked prior to his exit from the UFC.
Primarily covering the sport of MMA from Ontario, Canada, Jay Anderson has been writing for various publications covering sports, technology, and pop culture since 2001. Jay holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Guelph, and a Certificate in Leadership Skills from Humber College.
