The UFC is not pleased with a judge’s decision to deny the settlement agreement that would have marked the end of its near decade-long antitrust lawsuit filed by a group of former fighters. Hours after Judge Richard Boulware of the United States district court of Nevada denied a $335 million settlement agreement proposed by both sides of the legal aisle, the UFC, through parent company TKO Group Holdings Inc., issued a statement expressing its displeasure with the decision. “We obviously disagree with this ruling and believe it disregards the expertise of counsel from both sides, as well as that of an accomplished and expert mediator – all of whom have decades of experience in antitrust case law. “It prevents the athletes from receiving what they have argued is in their best interest and unwinds an extensively negotiated settlement that, in the plaintiffs’ counsel’s own words, ‘would far surpass the typical antitrust class action settlement’ and ‘is an excellent result for the Settlement Classes by all traditional measures.’ “Additionally, by taking the unusual step of denying the settlement at this preliminary approval stage, the Judge is also denying the athletes their right to be heard during this pivotal moment in the case
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