Francis Ngannou’s boxing debut was nothing short of incredible, and even though he didn’t get his arm raised in victory, many in the combat sports world felt he DID do enough to get the nod, but the judges instead scored it in favor of reigning lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. The tally would see “The Predator” take a split decision loss—in his f…

Over the years, John Nash has reviewed contracts from all the major MMA promotions and several big boxing contracts, as well. We’ve been able to see just how restrictive, and at times, draconian, most of the MMA agreements between promotions and athletes truly are. The UFC set the standard with their boilerplate contract and with new changes, have made …

It’s been a busy couple of weeks in the world of MMA business and finance, but we tried to cover all the most pertinent topics. Front and center is the new filings that came out last week on the UFC’s first half of the year. We also discuss the latest rumblings of a Bellator buyout by the PFL and what that could look like in the future. Here’s a list of…

A lot has happened in the last two weeks. The court gave a date in the antitrust suit, the defendants requested an appeal, the plaintiffs responded and we’ve got all the pertinent details. Spectrum and Disney have been in a battle over rising rates to broadcast Disney’s content—specifically ESPN. John opines on how that could affect the UFC.

Bloody Elbow…

Nate Quarry might be most famously known for his fight with Kalib Starnes or for his comeback fight against Pete Sell, but he is doing much bigger things these days. These days, he’s known as one of the original plaintiffs in the UFC antitrust suit, but because he was part of the identity class, which was denied class certification, he is no longer a pl…

Since the antitrust case finally received its class certification from Judge Boulware, the community has been abuzz with what the honorable judge’s written opinion means. The commentary from him was quite serious and he appears to clearly side with the plaintiffs. He used pointed language that left no doubt of this.

Bloody Elbow is fighting for the sport…

This week, the UFC antitrust lawsuit finally got class certification. Judge Boulware awarded the certification to the plaintiffs (the fighters), then gave his written statement, which was brutally honest. John Nash is back to break down the judge’s statements, what they mean, and how he views the impact of the UFC’s market power over the athletes.

Blood…

There’s been no shortage of big news in the last two weeks. From Ari Emanuel’s involvement in the SAG-AFTRA strike to how much of Disney’s assets Bob Iger was talking of selling off and everything in between. Just how differently does Ari treat actors and fighters and why, as well as what “finding a partner for ESPN” might entail.

The Bloody Elbow Podcas…

The UFC is the industry leader in MMA, without a doubt. The promotion is in the unique and very fortunate position of having a monopoly and a monopsony all at once, and their financial statements illustrate that point quite well. One of the ways they’re able to profit so heavily while the fighters make so little (around a 13-14% revenue share) is becaus…

Over the last month, the sports community has been trying to process the massive bombshell the PGA tour dropped when they announced they’d be merging with the LIV tour. For months, the PGA tour told the golfing community—including golfers themselves—that they had no intention of merging with LIV. And then they did. John Nash immediately started digging …