In the eyes of UFC CEO Dana White, the rejection of the settlement in the UFC's antitrust, class-action lawsuits was more than just business — it was personal.
White recently sat down for an interview with Kevin Iole. During it, he made his first public comments about the class-action lawsuits since Judge Richard Boulware formally rejected the $335 settlement from the UFC's parent company, TKO Holdings Group.
White feels that Boulware's actions went beyond legalities and may have been based on a personal grudge, with White — who says he usually lets the UFC's legal team deal with matters involving things like this — claiming that he and Lorenzo Fertitta, former UFC CEO, went to high school with Boulware.
It's getting to a point now where this feels personal. You know I went to high school with this guy? Me and Lorenzo went to high school with him. I don't know what me or Lorenzo did to him in high school, but this seems very, very personal.
I don't think I did anything to this guy. I don't know what the hell happened, but there's no doubt in my mind that this feels absolutely personal. And whatever it is with this guy, we'll let the lawyers deal with it, and it is what it is.
Dana White Claims Judge's Rejection Of UFC Antitrust Lawsuit Settlement Stems From 'Personal' High School Grudge
In March, TKO agreed to the $335 million payout to settle a pair of class-action lawsuits brought against the UFC, [Cung] Le et al. vs. Zuffa and [Kajan] Johnson et al. vs. Zuffa. The plaintiffs were seeking $1.6 billion in damages and contractual changes to UFC contracts.
Boulware, in previous weeks, had express concern about the settlement for various reasons. Firstly, the amount obtained in the settlement greatly differed from what the plaintiffs were originally seeking, creating concern over how much each fighter would actually receive from this.
Secondly, each class-action lawsuit had a different focus, with the Le case centered around money and the Johnson case focused on contractual changes. Boulware expressed worry that this settlement did little to nothing for fighters represented in the Johnson case.
A jury trial is currently scheduled to begin on October 28 for Le vs. Zuffa. Johnson vs. Zuffa, meanwhile, is still in a very early portion of the legal process.