The UFC antitrust lawsuit spent three years stagnating and then a few months ago, we got big news: the honorable Judge Boulware assigned class certification and gave detailed notes that left no doubt he thought the plaintiffs had a solid case. Since then, it’s been a near-constant stream of updates, starting with the defendants’ official appeal—which was almost immediately denied by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Hey Not The Face! Podcast is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Then we saw the defendants submit a motion to re-open discovery. That was denied quickly, as well. Along with that denial, Judge Boulware indicated that he was going to deny their motion for summary judgement, and then gave a brand new reason for the plaintiffs to celebrate: Injunctive relief could now be on the table if they win the case.

If they can do that, and it’s looking like they can, the UFC could be subject to more than just monetary restitution, they could end up having court ordered changes to their business model. Nash has maintained that the UFC hasn’t settled yet because they assumed they could pay the damages and keep moving along because their business model is the magic that fills their coffers. This new development could be disastrous for the UFC.

The rest of the episode is a thorough review of the antitrust lawsuit from the beginning to where we are currently. It should be noted that we recorded that portion of the show Thursday, but news broke late yesterday, so we decided to do an emergency recording to provide the update. Because we think you guys are the bees knees.

Thank you for listening to the Hey Not The Face! Podcast. We’d be eternally grateful if you could help us spread word of this episode by sharing it far and wide.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heynottheface.substack.com/subscribe