MMA News

Tag: lawsuit

  • Disney and Gina Carano Reach Shocking Settlement in Star Wars Lawsuit

    Disney and Gina Carano Reach Shocking Settlement in Star Wars Lawsuit

    Gina Carano has settled her lawsuit with the ‘House of Mouse.’

    The former MMA fighter was unceremoniously fired from her recurring role on the hit Disney+ series The Mandalorian in 2021 after she made a controversial post on social media comparing the treatment of modern-day republicans to Jews during the Holocaust.

    “Jews were beaten in the streets, not by Nazi soldiers but by their neighbors…. even by children, because history is edited, most people today don’t realize that to get to the point where Nazi soldiers could easily round up thousands of Jews, the government first made their own neighbors hate them simply for being Jews,” the actress posted at the time. “How is that any different from hating someone for their political views?”

    Despite the utter ignorance of the post, Carano maintained that she was being discriminated against due to her conservative views, and, in turn, filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against Disney with a little financial assistance from tech billionaire and Donald Trump’s on-again-off-again bestie, Elon Musk.

    On Thursday, Carano announced that she had settled the years-long suit with both Disney and it’s subsidary responsible for producing Star Wars content, Lucasfilm LTD.

    “I have come to an agreement with Disney/Lucasfilm @disney @Lucasfilm which I believe is the best outcome for all parties involved,” Carano said in a statement. “I hope this brings some healing to the force… I hope to make you proud. I am excited to flip the page and move onto the next chapter. My desires remain in the arts, which is where I hope you will join me.”

    Disney is seemingly open to working with Gina Carano again

    Before parting ways, Disney had reportedly floated the idea of producing a spin-off series based on Carano’s fan favorite character on the show, Cara Dune. Of course, those plans were quickly scrapped after her firing, but in a statement following the settlement, Disney seemingly left the door open to work with Carano in the future.

    “The Walt Disney Company and Lucasfilm are pleased to announce that we have reached an agreement with Gina Carano to resolve the issues in her pending lawsuit against the companies. Ms. Carano was always well respected by her directors, co-stars, and staff, and she worked hard to perfect her craft while treating her colleagues with kindness and respect.

    “With this lawsuit concluded, we look forward to identifying opportunities to work together with Ms. Carano in the near future,” Disney said in a statement. 

    After Disney showed her the door, Carano continued to act in and produce projects for conservative media outlet Daily Wire. One of her projects included Terror on the Prairie, a western co-starring herself and UFC Hall of Famer Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone.

  • Judge Sets Trial Date For UFC Antitrust Lawsuit After Rejecting Settlement

    *UPDATE: On Monday, August 20, Judge Richard Boulware set a trial date on February 3, 2025, for the UFC antitrust lawsuit filed against the promotion by fighters such as Cung Le and Nate Quarry. The date won’t be adjusted unless the judge approves a new preliminary settlement.

    Original article published on July 31, 2024.

    After being placed on hold earlier this month, the settlement given out by TKO Holdings Group, the parent company of the UFC, in a pair of class-action lawsuits against the MMA promotion have now been rejected by the judge, resulting in the scheduling of a jury trial.

    Josh Gross, who has covered MMA since 2000 for a number of outlets, including ESPN, Sports Illustrated, and The Athletic, was present in the courtroom when Judge Richard F. Boulware, district judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, came down with his decision not to grant preliminary approval for the settlement on July 12.

    “Judge Boulware did not grant preliminary approval for the UFC class-action antitrust settlement today. I was in the courtroom this afternoon. Boulware expressed several areas of concern and it sure seemed to me that he’s leaning toward denying the deal and moving to a jury trial.”

    Though it’s rare to hear about in settlements like this one, Gross mentioned that Judge Boulware was leaning toward a complete shutdown of the agreed-upon settlement, potentially bringing the UFC antitrust case to a jury trial after all.

    That came to fruition on Tuesday night, with the judge officially rejecting the settlement and ordering the Le suit back to trial on October 28, 2024. A status conference will comes beforehand on August 19.

    Jury Trial Expected For UFC Antitrust Lawsuit After Judge Does Not Approve $335 Million Settlement

    In March, TKO agreed to a $335 million payout to settle a pair of antitrust lawsuits, representing more than 1,200 fighters, brought against the UFC. One, [Cung] Le et al. vs. Zuffa, centered around fighters who competed in the UFC between Dec. 16, 2010, and June 30, 2017. The other, [Kajan] Johnson et al. vs. Zuffa, represented fighters competing from July 1, 2017, through 2021.

    The plaintiffs had initially sought approximately $1.6 billion in damages.

    In his thread, Gross outlined the issues Judge Boulware had with the settlement. One of these is the gap between the amount agreed upon in the settlement and what the fighters had initially sought. Gross noted that “Boulware addressed the amount of money awarded to fighters in the settlement and how it is being distributed, especially compared to what fighters could win at trial with treble damages.”

    Additionally, Judge Boulware has taken issue with the settlement when looking at the attentions of the different lawsuits. The Le fighters are more focused on their settlement, while the Johnson fighters on injunctive relief (in other words, as Gross notes, changes in contracts and protections that would allow more freedoms for fighters).

    While Boulware acknowledged a lack of wrongdoing on behalf of the legal counsel representing the fighters, he did note that the current settlement does little for those fighters represented in the Johnson class-action suit.

    Paul Gift of Forbes noted last month that Judge Boulware had “serious concerns” about the settlement. He also noted that the plaintiffs claimed the UFC would only settle both class-action cases simultaneously.

    Legal expert Michael McCann of Sportico has suggested the UFC and attorneys for the Le case could strike a separate deal, while the Johnson case — which is in a much earlier phase of litigation — remains in court.

    The UFC released a statement on Wednesday, expressing disappointment and disagreement with the judge’s ruling.

  • MMA News Today: Dana White Hits Back At Claims UFC Is A ‘Monopoly’, Ranked UFC Fighter Legally Changes First Name To ‘King’, & More

    MMA News Today: Dana White Hits Back At Claims UFC Is A ‘Monopoly’, Ranked UFC Fighter Legally Changes First Name To ‘King’, & More

    Welcome to MMA News Today, a daily feature running down the most interesting stories in the world of mixed martial arts. For July 8, 2024, we’re taking a look at:

    • White argues that UFC is the best at what they do rather than a monopoly
    • There’s a new “King” in the lightweight division
    • Top 15 lightweights scheduled for UFC’s return to Paris

    Dana White Insists UFC Isn’t A Monopoly Because ‘Anyone’ Can Start An MMA Promotion

    During the long process of the antitrust lawsuit that was filed against the UFC by former members of the roster, the case was granted class certification.

    While a settlement was eventually reached, many concluded that the class certification validated the allegation that the UFC holds a monopoly over the sport. Unsurprisingly, the promotion disagreeds with that notion.

    Dana White spoke out on this during a recent interview with Fox News, where he debated the idea that the MMA leader prevents others from being able to compete at its level.

    He made the case that the UFC is simply the best at what it does, but that it’s not stopping others from trying to replicate the success achieved by the sport’s leading promotion.

    “People have called us ‘monopoly’ and all this stuff for years. We’re not a monopoly, we’re just the best,” White said. “We’re the best at what we do, there’s no barrier to entry, anyone could get into this.

    “You could start a league tomorrow and pay the guys whatever you want, you can do whatever you want but a lot of smart, talented, big business moguls have got into this sport and tried to compete with me and they couldn’t do it,” White continued. “But everybody — there’s no barrier to entry, anyone can get into this thing tomorrow.”

    Bobby Green Officially Changes His Name To ‘King’ Green Ahead Of UFC 304 Return

    Islam Makhachev sits atop the UFC’s lightweight division as the world champion and pound-for-pound best fighter in the sport. Now, however, 155 pounds has a new king.

    #15-ranked Bobby Green made his intentions clear in the past that he was looking to change his name, but it has now been made official.

    When he makes the walk at UFC 304 later this month to face Paddy Pimblett, he will do so under a new name, King Green.

    He gave fans a glimpse of the official documentation on Instagram, which clearly shows that from this point on, he will answer to King and King only.

    Renato Moicano Set To Face Benoît Saint Denis In Paris Over Five Rounds

    The Octagon is set to return to the French capital for a third consecutive year, with UFC Paris going down at the Accor Arena on September 28.

    Ag. Fight reported that top 15 lightweights will face off in Paris with France’s Benoît Saint Denis taking on Brazil’s Renato Moicano. MMA Junkie later confirmed that the contest is set to take place over five rounds.

    It remains to be seen whether that marks the break of Ciryl Gane’s streak of Paris headliners, or if “God of War” and his Brazilian counterpart are set for a five-round co-headliner.

    Moicano is riding a three-fight win streak from the #10 spot, while Saint Denis, who is two spots below him in the rankings, will look to bounce back from his defeat to Dustin Poirier in March.

    Read more on the story here.

    For more MMA news, check out: