ZUFFA tries to Block Parties from Releasing its Financial Records

Zuffa has filed a motion to prevent the release of 15 years of financial records or as long as the company has owned the UFC.  In addition to this Zuffa is also asking the court to move the venue from the Northern District of California to Las Vegas where the company is headquartered.

Zuffa of coarse, is on the other end of an antitrust lawsuit filed by many former fighters who were competitors under its banner.  The parties in the class action are asking to see the financial records of the multi-million dollar company to see if Zuffa was adequately compensating its athletes whom risk their safety every time they step into the cage or whether those funds were being diverted to enrich the corporate heads...

The plaintiffs are looking for damages under the provisions of the Sherman Antitrust Act.  Specifically the allegation that because the UFC and Zuffa have created a monopoly on mixed martial arts that they have de facto created a monopsony on its fighters as well.

This conflict came to a head when the UFC announced that it would be implementing a uniform policy, outlawing all other sponsors in the cage.  This new policy has hurt many fighters and many are biding their time until they can jump ship to an organization that may allow them more financial security, at the expense of their image as these organizations neither have the name nor the brand that the UFC carries.  Several UFC fighters themselves have voiced their disdain for this new policy, including the UFC's own color commentator Joe Rogan who declared that this compensation plan is not enough.  The actual tiered system itself was leaked last week by a fighter that led to many discussions in the Underground as well as other MMA centric forums. Click here for more on that.

UFC veteran Phil Davis has already decided to sign with Bellator earlier this month following the end of his contract with the UFC and his fellow Penn State wrestling alum Ed Ruth also made the jump to Bellator, stating that "he was pleased with the organization and that he was happy he could keep his own sponsors."  Scott Coker, the former CEO of the now defunct Strikeforce MMA and the current president of the UFC's main competitor, stated that his phone has been ringing with many upset UFC fighters.

It will be interesting to see if this will thin out Zuffa's roster.  As always feel free to leave a comment down below or on my Google +,subscribe to the blog, and follow me on twitter as well @mmalegal2016.