LUKE THOMAS *Breaking News* UFC ANTITRUST LAWSUIT IS OVER!
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- āđāļāļĒāđāļāļĢāđāđāļĄāļ·āđāļ 19 āļĄāļĩ.āļ. 2024
- Luke Thomas: The UFC has settled its class action lawsuit with the fighter plaintiffs. Luke breaks down everything we know thus far, why this is bad news for PFL and ONE Championship, what this means for fighter pay and more.
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Only UFC fighters could wrap up a fighter pay lawsuit by getting underpaid in a settlement.
My thoughts exactly. I guess I'll stop feeling bad for them being underpaid, seems they love it this way ðĪ·ðūââïļ
@@juanhunter7073 does your username imply you hunt down mexicans.
Very cool of you to copy and paste a tweet from someone else (mookie alexander) and not even bother to change a single word
For Real...what a disappointment
@@late_privktorian_eraðĪð
I officially stop caring about fighter treatment because fighters don't care how they are treated.
I stopped caring like 4 years ago lol. They just dont care, just watch them fight and move on. Dont need to worry about them crying about pay
Some for sure. Some think Iâd rather do this for some money than none. A blanket statement about all fighters isnât totally true
Right on!
Umm dude? Please apply some logic here. Fighters willingly agree to fight for X amount and sign a contract. They are happy with it, or they wouldn't sign. The end. That's it. Short story. You don't have to like facts, but that doesn't change them. The sooner you understand that, the sooner you can elevate your life to the next level.
@@agee1961 My blanket statement was true. They all willingly sign. If they complain about that later, they are a moron. Fighters are no different than any other class of humans.
Luke just told the fighters: âCongratulations, you just played yourself.â ð
Fighter's thinking ðĪ: Were going to get 100 dollar hair cuts âïļ with this one.
Surprised by not shocked, MMA is not a team sport. Everybody is looking out for themselves.
Nor is tennis....
@@ZPSBestProfileNameIâm starting to believe fighters ARE actually dumb. & I used to box myself ðĪĶðŧââïļ
They literally weren't looking out for themselves though this is wild they're looking out for their corporate masters ðð I lost a lot of respect for them honestly this is hilariously sad
Ironically that's how they collectively lose
@@T1tusCr0w I'm questioning my own intelligence as well.
Remember when they said "Settling isn't enough"?
The fighters all just showed that they were lying to get support. Then they kick everyone in the teeth and settle. Oof at that.
Come on, we knew they were gonna settle.
335 million on a company worth 7 Billion. Damn the UFC can't lose. The UFC needs to fight the IRS for the undisputed Title. Winner fights the Federal Reserve.
the ufc is 4.3 billion in debt before the lawsuit , it all came out in the case
@donniedoesdishes You mean it sold for 4 billion.
Lol
Thatâs crazy
@@donniedoesdishes that's not how debt works.
Folded like a deck of cards... 335m isn't even a rounding error for TKO. What's the betting that, per capita, the lawyers walk away with more than the fighters? Smh...
The lawyers will get 1/3.
Yep looks like lawyers getting millions ðļ
Unfortunate that this didnât lead to any contractual changes or any long term policy that could improve fighter treatment
The old fighters they brought the lawsuit forward only care about getting a payoff, not about the next generation of fighters
@@andyjaniszewski2130 thatâs up to you buddy.
@@andyjaniszewski2130 And to be quite honest. Whats good for fighters is terrible for fans and watchability. Sure us fans want these fighters to make big money but look what happened to boxing. The UFC and its iron fist can make the best fight the best where if they had more freedom that would not happen often at all
@@dano1307keep the, poor crazy and willing to fight the hardest guys for 12 to show / 12 to go! ððŧ - wether we agree or not thatâs how it will be now going forward.
UFC would never.
They solve things by throwing money at people, never a compromise on the UFCs end
This is quite literally why we canât have nice things
No, this is why UFC fighters can't have good things. They keep back stabbing each other.
Yea 100%. Very disappointing
The reason you can't have nice things is you're dump of a country and the political party that is running it. Ufc fighter pay should be the least of your worries bro
When heard this all I could think about was that South Park episode where the Canadians settled for bubblegum and coupons ðĪĢ
The fact that this whole thing amounted to nothing other than the UFC having to give up a bit of their pocket money is pretty damn depressing. I mean even the judge who overlooked this case agreed and said something about the contracts being absolutely horrendous for whoever signs them and yet here we are with nothing but a settlement for what is peanuts to the UFC.
It's hilarious
It's just sad! The fact they settled with no terms or conditions is appalling, but what's worse is that settlement wasn't for over a billion
The UFC is Luke's barber.
The fighters are Luke.
I acutally thought Luke looks good in this video hahah
Wow the âdumb fighter,â stereotype is real. Criticizing the media for trying to help you provide for your family? These guys are weak for Dana.
Yeah. That part really cracks me up. How do you even begin to have a mindset like that? Media wants to have your back and you're mad at them? Are you that brainwashed that your mind is like a slug?! Wtf.
That part physically hurts.... it might've gave me the diabetes
This is wildly depressing
if your biggest issue in life is worrying about pay for professional athletes you got an easy life
â@@vlcthefishikr a lot of people are eager counting other people's money.
I agree with you. It's definitely disappointing.
Is it? You support fighters? So you buy merch, tickets and pay for ppv then right? Since that is directly what pays fighters.
@@Gratefulfellow yeah it's just hilarious how people live vicariously through strangers like fighter pay. i guarantee you 99% of the rubes who have this issue in their head are too scared to ask their own boss for a raise at work
Start a lawsuit to change the contracts of UFC to favor all the fighters in the world.
Settle the dispute for money.
There you have it , MMA fighters fighting for themselves.
It's not that they settled for money, they setteled for a lot less than everyone thought they would. They're gonna get 200k each which makes no sense.
@@justfasial01 I'll bet you 200k they get no where close to that number. Lawyers are about to teach you guys what lawyers do. Wait until all the dust settles and see what each fighter gets after lawyers and taxes... I put my money on less than 50k each.
@@eriklarson9137lawsuit settlements arenât taxed
Yeah, the whole point of this settlement was supposed to be about getting leverage and they got none at the end. Pathetic. So nothing really changes going forward.
â@@eriklarson9137 lawyers get a third
UFC fighters talk a lot of crap about freedom, working class and being anti-establishment but when it really comes to it they're pro-establishment whimps, how anti-union they are is shocking for people who grew up with american culture
ðŊðŊ
For people who grew up outside American culture it is shocking how anti-union all of America is. Factory town working class people who need unions the most.
American culture is why theyâre anti-union.
The media did a hit job on the very idea of socialism or co-operation in anything. If youâre not rugged individualism your "weak" Stand on your own. Pull yourself up by your bootstraps ( did you know this was ACTUALLY a critique on capitalismâs uneven distribution originally. Because itâs impossible to do ) at this point in time Unions might as well come with the damn Soviet flag ððĪĶðŧââïļ
What a damn bad result for the working man.
Most of the people who talk that shit are the biggest corporate glazers you'll ever meet. Let them talk and ignore it they don't be hitting on shit as we can all seeðð
They finally had UFC by the balls and they fucked it up
Right Bro
Absolutely idiotic comment
This is legit laughable. Hard to keep feeling bad for fighter pay when this is the type of result they continually find as sufficient
â@@andyjaniszewski2130?? This is a bizarre response, just say you don't care about other people don't pretend there's some philosophy to it
@@andyjaniszewski2130 Caring about income inequality or recognizing a contract as exploitative is a basic human response you doofus. No one said any of this is your "job"
Fighters take pride in working for cheap. Itâs dumb but thatâs how it is
@@onelongwordable lol for real ð
@@sknockout sadly and oddly, this is true
Wow that ominous "I'm happy for *them* " was felt.
So in short UFC is paying handful of fighters hefty amount so they keep their mouth shut so they can keep paying 16% of total revenue to other fighters. What a joke
That's capitalism for you.
The UFC isn't even paying a hefty amount, as Luke said near the mid-point it's just a modest amount
It's cute how you frame that. Who is worse here? The company paying them, OR the people accepting the money? Figure out where the blame actually lies.
@@nomadgrappler9410 Exactly! The fighters have a choice in capitalism. The end.
@@eriklarson9137 The class action lawyers who advised them to do this so they can take 99% of the settlement home
The entire thing is now gonna make contracts more restrictive.
There are many organizations so they can fight and search for a better contract before and then they to go in UFC when they have skill to be in top 10.
Josh Fabia must have been representing the fighters...
Just like when they sign a contract, the fighters are accountable for this. Blame them. Stop acting like fighters are clueless morons. They are the ones that sign and agree to fight for x amount of money. In this case THEY are the ones that decided to settle. No evil genius is behind it. No one else to blame.
Definitely a few evil geniuses involved.
u made me lol sir.
@@eriklarson9137shhhhhh quiet Josh
Barber: âWhat can I do for ya?â
Luke: âGive me that Ilia Topuria cutâ
Barber: âSay no more, my guy.â
the mustache shave is entering uncanny valley
Luke: âBy the way, have I shown you my Ilia tattoo?â
He didn't make that style. Y'all are sheep
I didn't have much hope for the lawsuit when I saw that Jon Fitch was one of the minds behind it... But this is shockingly low!
Can't feel bad for someone that doesn't want to help themself. Mfers snatched defeat from the jaws of victory ðĪĶââïļ ðĪĶââïļ ðĪĶââïļ
Perfectly stated ð
Lots of Dom Perignon being uncorked and toasted at UFC HQ tonight.
Proper 12
This is heartbreaking honestly, this sport is a farce.
No more fighter pay talk!!
What is the point in trying to help people who simply refuse to help themselves. Who would have thought that some of the toughest people on the planet could be such bottle jobs.
Most fighters fight because the drudge of a normal job for 45 years would kill them. Unfortunately, only 10% will leave the UFC with fuk u money. So that job they hate WILL turn up at some point. ðĪ·ðŧââïļ
I'd bet its way less than 10%
@@ryu-ken yep I was being generous but I remember reading somewhere it was 3% of fighters didnât need a next job afterwards.
What industry does that exact thing NOT apply to? Owning your own successful business... and thats about it. â@T1tusCr0w
@@ryu-kencorrect
I'm so tried of riding for these guys just for them to take a check when the water starts getting rough.
They have families bro they don't have time for it
"riding for them" - I don't even know what that means. What activism did you perform on their behalf? Posting mean things online? Are you so clueless that you think you deserve credit for that? It's crazy what people think these days. If I am wrong, what actual physical work did you perform on behalf of the fighters?
@@eriklarson9137 Expressing disappointment isn't demanding credit. Wtf are you even mad about?
@@utkarsh2746no one is mad except you guys, heâs asking what do you guys actually do except bitch on the internet ð nothing
@@eriklarson9137 You gotta wonder if such fans buy PPV's, merch etc...
All this to say, they tapped out.
In five seconds I've gone from caring about fighter pay to being pretty indifferent to it. At the end of the day, what do we see? We see most of the top guys content with their pay, even though they should be worth more, and then we see guys on the Contender Series in tears after being awarded their shiny 12/12 contract. I wish things were different and the UFC slobs got dealt a little justice, but what can we do?
Just watch the fights for entertainment. Have no personal feelings in it. Do not care about their pay. That's the best way to go
@Luke Thomas this new thumbnail design is very good. Kudos
I hope the court disapprove the settlement
I thought the point of the lawsuit was to set a precedent The suit was supposed to be about helping fighters in the future
Good point. Which means, NO settling!
This is such a shame man
More proof that if you have enough money you can get away with anything.
And be the highest paying MMA organization in the world, producing the richest and most popular fighters.
That's definitely a $100 dollar hair cut! Thanks for the update Luke.
Naah its a standard arab 10⎠cut
@@YrNewHomie I like it. I've had two haircuts in about years 8 years, I don't like having it cut. It's part of my identity. But when I did last it was ÂĢ12 dry cut, trim. No nonsense.
@@WernerRachtman As an Indian man Luke pays in rupees.
This is surely the 12k/12 of settlements - absolute peanuts for the UFC in comparrisson to what the lawsuit was threatening
Who cares ? Same media who who are talking about 57 yr old Tyson vs Paul for clicks are acting like they care about fighters safety.
i am dumb as fuck for thinking this would lead to some meaningful change
You and me brother
So much for changing contracts and helping out fighters
It's tough for me to see how anyone that cared about those issues could feel anything but profound disappointment in this outcome. For UFC this feels like huge win to me. HUGE. Imo
Luke looking fitter and with a clearly $100 haircut. MK must be coming back any minute......
Not a chance.
Woah, crazy. Thanks for the update.
If you didn't like the apex cards, it's going to get worse and probably Power Slap in between ppv fights forcing fans to watch
Great video. Great hair. Great sound and video quality. Strong work Luke.
As much as the sport has evolved, popularized and amount of talent there is today, I still miss and enjoyed the golden era when Pride FC and the UFC were equals in rivalry. Pride was a head for a few years in regards to roster of fighters. They were the best. I remember when Dana brought Chuck over to Pride in hopes to fight Wanderlei and bet like 250k that he'd win the tournament but Chuck ended up losing to Overeem. The UFC monopoly is terrible for the sport, especially the fans and fighters.
From the surface and not knowing all details this sounds atrocious for any young fighter entering the ufc
Thanks for the quick vid.
I was waiting on Luke to drop this ð
Project Spearhead not working out is quite literally the reason why I dont believe the fighters are capable of creating a union for themselves, at least not now...
Nothing like a couple of fighters ruining it for a generation.
How did we not know that in the end this would just be settled for money, no changes to UFC at all, and not even a lot of money.
Thanks for the content Luke, still waiting on MK though ð
Fighters are still getting underpaid even in courts. Damn. Either their lawyers suck or they just wanted to get something out of it. Oh, well.
Seems like a real bummer
One thing I never heard anyone talk about is what the MMA landscape would look like had these lawsuits prevailed and the contracts were changed. Why not suss this out and identify the pros and cons? I don't think this would end up being the panacea like Luke thinks and many unintended consequences might arise that could be even "worse" than the current situation. Unapologetically, as a fan, I love the current setup because I get fights practically every weekend as opposed to boxing where fight cards have one, maybe two top tier match-ups and a bunch of undercards that end up not being televised and those fighters making next to nothing.
It's refreshing to see someone consider the potential pros, cons and unintended consequences of this situation. Everyone tends to think the grass is greener on the other side (usually because they're already committed to a political/economic ideology), but there are trade-offs to every situation.
I think a modest (and fair) step in the right direction would be for the UFC to allow fighters to have their in-cage sponsors back. Also, bumping up the percentage of pay the fighters get would allow them access to better training opportunities. The nightmare scenario would be if the fighters gain so much leverage that it destroys the competitive matchmaking the UFC is known for.
This is a win for us the fans if Luke and people like Luke had there way mma would be just like boxing with that Ali act all messed up.
Luke got them granny ðĩ glasses on.
He should play the next Mrs Doubtfire.
Those are in fashion apparently. Found out I need glasses, I don't suit them. I look goofy as hell.
Damn Luke is fastâĶ
got that black hawk down fade going today
The UFC is worth 12 billion now. Yeah, that settlement didnt really hurt them at all
Fighters dropped the bag on this one. They would have have changed MMA forever. Dang
It's to bad they didn't stand behind the double A triple M
In the end the biggest winners ended up being the ones who usually win in these situations, the big corporation, and the lawyers.
Ultimately it's a good thing for the fans. What's best for the fighters ends up being bad for the viewing experience anyways. If the fighters don't want to help themselves then I don't have a problem rooting against their success anymore.
Everyone saying they have made a bad settlement, but try putting 200k in front of a fighter who has no money and stands to potentially get nothing if they lose.
What a shame. 355 mill is like a nice house down the beach in florida
Need more Morning Kombat! Hair on point Luke
That shit isnt coming back. I already unsubbed there channels cause they are so far out of my routine. It was a good run though.
Damn y'all are quick to unsub. I've got dead subs from like 5 years ago I haven't deleted yet ðĪĢ
I think the UFC will increase their fighter payout. But, not by much. If I had to guess it will go up to 20-25% of revenue, up from 16% or whatever it is now. It will probably result in a small bump to the minimum salary and the rest will go to the biggest draws. Thatâs the easiest way for them to make fairly small changes that are easy to point to in the answer to a future lawsuit and say, âlook what we did!â
Thatâs not me being an optimistic, it would just be hard to foresee the UFC literally changing nothing and opening themselves up to another similar lawsuit in the future. But again, itâll just be super marginal improvements and the current structure will almost assuredly stay pretty much the same.
Disheartening, but the fighters took the deal so it is what it is.
Great, now we can stop talking so much litigation and start talking more MMA. Bravo!
Solid job Luke ð
They clearly have kept all other competition out of the fight capital, Las Vegas forever. Good luck Conner!
We cannot assume what the settlement is until the filings are entered. There could be other remedies to the settlement.
No one could convince me these guys paid $4B and didnât fully allow for this settlement when they purchased Zuffa. I bet they not only knew theyâd be writing a big check but I bet they spent a lot of money on experts to determine how much it would cost them and then they worked it into their profit strategies
This is a horrible outcomeâĶ a sad day for justice
I mean are we really surprised by this? They've been told their whole careers 'Don't let it go to a judge's decision'
Lmao ð
would it be legal for One etc to pay those fighters in the case the settlement themselves so they could go on with the case?
Your face in that thumbnail says, "I'm not mad, just disappointed."
Thanks for the quick response to the news. Very disheartening
As somebody with some legal education, it was gonna be a hard road to prove the case. The settlement is not a bad a deal.
***FULL DISCLOSURE*** Luke is rock hard under his desk as he talks about this and he is NOT wearing pants.
I stopped caring about the UFC a long time ago but this is still very sad. 10 years for nothing. Very disheartening
So what we've learned is that nothing is ever going to change unless the law changes. And even then i wouldn't be surprised if the UFC still finds a way out of that
I have to imagine their lawyers advised them to do this. I'd have rather rolled the dice and got nothing than settle for pennies though.
I'm quite surprised by this news. I feel like the fighters settled for a smaller sum than I expected.
It shouldn't be too surprising, look how happy ufc fans get when they escort trump in the scene ð these ppl can't count frfr
Haai here i was hoping for too see some change ups. Ticket prises going up. Sometimes the fughts we want Sometimes not
The fighters who actually filed the lawsuit will get a way bigger chunk of the payout is why they settled. That's just how class action lawsuits work. ðĪ·ââïļ
This is heartbreakingâĶhappy for them but they shouldâve kept fighting ffs
Bro terrible news honestly. UFC fighters, other promotions, deserved better.
Couldn't a different group of fighters just bring up the same concerns? Is this double jeopardy?
Best case scenario for the PFL, ONE, etcâĶ, would be to end up in a buyout situation where those leagues remain, but as some form of smaller branch off of the UFC, while the UFC remains as the premier âleagueâ of the sport. But I agree that there is no other way for those other leagues to survive while competing head to head with the UFC.
So disappointing. A sad indictment on the unity of fighters and their futures. They knew what was at stake for the future of our sport and they took the hand bag.
Fighters actually have a chance to change fighter pay structure
Also fighters: yeah forget that just give me $250,000 and a signed Conor Mcgregor poster and will shut up
When you take off 30 percent and then divide it by 1,200 people in the lawsuit, all they get is âover timeâ 194k. So these fighters sold out for less than 200k, nice you'll receive 5 years of minimum wage. Great job boys.
settled for peanuts ðĨ cause they were scared homie
So UFC 10-8 the fighters to a decision
ð
The fighters involved in the suit were greedy. Lol chose a measly 200k over potential historical change.
I'm confident that the timing of PFL buying up Bellator hurt the claim UFC is a monopoly which allowed quick settlement soon after.
Atta boy! Blame the PFL for UFC fighters backing out.
This settlement has nothing to do with the strength of the claim. This settlement is purely between the fighters and the UFC. You could argue that the fighters saw that, and might be worried it would have an affect on the outcome of the case if it went to trial, but to say it âhurt the claimâ is simply untrue. The claim was never tested. You could hypothesise it might, but the fighters backed out and accepted the quick cheque here- simple as that
Its a "monopsony" case and it would probably be strengthened by the presence of even fewer buyers in the market. Probably why UFC pulled out the chequebook, not the other way round.
@@toziassmitt
I've been involved in Class action lawsuits (employees sued my business partner). I am 99% confident based on my experience with lawyers that the PFL buying Bellator had an impact resulting in the fighters involved decided to settle.
@@livefree1030 being âinvolvedâ in a class action lawsuit doesnât make you a lawyer buddy. Your experience means nothing in this case. This isnât your area of expertise, and everyone is telling you that youâre wrongâĶ learn to pipe down
yikes, so what happened to the premise of making things better for the current and future generation of fighters with better pay, rights and contracts? this is just too low and too empty of a settlement it's almost hilarious.
yup, that tracks