Ninth Circuit Rejects UFC Appeal to Strip Fighters’ Class Status

The Ninth Circuit rejected a request by the Ultimate Fighting Championship to appeal a judge’s order that certified a class of 1,200 fighters who accused the sports organization of confining athletes to successive contracts and depressing their pay.

“The petition for permission to appeal is denied,” the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said in a brief order, citing the circuit’s previous decision in 2005 in Chamberlan v. Ford Motor Co. that said such appeals should be a “rare occurrence.”

UFC didn’t immediately respond to inquiries. But the organization argued the district court erroneously certified the class of fighters by embracing an “unprecedented theory” that UFC violated antitrust law by not increasing the compensation of fighters in direct proportion to growth in revenues.

Eric Cramer, chairman of Berger Montague, a lawyer for the fighters, said he is pleased the Ninth Circuit left standing the district court’s “well-reasoned and factually-based class certification order.”

“We are excited about taking the case to trial in front of a jury in Las Vegas in April of next year,” Cramer said.

UFC has filed a motion for summary judgment to throw out the case in district court. Cramer said UFC is also trying to delay the trial by extending discovery.

In the district court case, the fighters are represented by Berger Montague PC, Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, PLLC and the Joseph Saveri Law Firm Inc. The UFC is represented by Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP and Latham & Watkins, LLP.

The case is Cung Le v. Zuffa, 9th Cir., No. 23-80074, 11/1/23.