The numbers are in, and one fighter in particular is getting a big payday following the UFC’s anti-trust settlement.
Per a report by veteran combat sports journalist John S. Nash, Le. vs. Zuffa claims administrator Angeion Group has filed a report on the processing of class member claim submissions. Funds to eligible claim members are set to be distributed “no later than September 16,” but it’s the numbers breakdown that may raise eyebrows.
Based on the newly filed report, the average payment to claimants who are part of the class action lawsuit will be $231,022.29. The median sits at $86,034.65, while the highest payment will be $10,334,240.72, which will go to Anderson Silva, per Nash. The lowest payment set to be issued, meanwhile, is $16,138.45.
Per the terms of the settlement between Zuffa/UFC and the class members, eligible fighters should see 32.7% of their total bout compensation earned during the class period paid to them, plus $14,179.33 per fight.
That’s not chump change.
Dragging out through the court system in Nevada for over a decade, 2014’s Le. et al vs. Zuffa alleged the UFC had underpaid its fighters, maintaining a Monopsony and utilizing anti-competitive business practices to keep fighter pay down. The two sides reached a settlement in 2024. A second class action lawsuit, covering a later class period post-2017, Kajan Johnson, et al. v. Zuffa, LLC, remains ongoing.
Anderson Silva remains the most decorated middleweight champion in UFC history. Now 50, he last competed inside the octagon in 2020, before moving on to a brief, and somewhat successful boxing career. “The Spider,” in his heyday, was one of the most feared competitors in mixed martial arts, as well as one of the most recognizable. His ten (consecutive) title defenses remain a UFC record; Silva is also a two-time UFC Hall of Fame member.
