UFC's £281m settlement with ex-fighters approved

The UFC is the biggest MMA promotion in the world

A judge has granted preliminarily approval on the UFC's £281m settlement in one of two legal cases in the United States affecting hundreds of its former fighters.

The group of former fighters claimed the UFC's contracts suppressed athletes' abilities to negotiate other promotional options.

TKO Group, who own the UFC and WWE, had one settlement rejected but the latest agreement struck in September has been approved by judge Richard Boulware.

The lawsuit was filed by Cung Le in 2014 and covered fighters competing in the UFC from 2010 to 2017.

The UFC described the decision as "welcome news for both parties" while Eric Cramer, lead attorney for the plaintiffs - the fighters - said they were "extremely pleased".

"It is a monumental achievement that will get significant relief to hundreds of deserving MMA fighters," Cramer said in a statement to MMA Fighting.

"We honour our brave representative plaintiffs who fought for this result for 10 years and we look forward to pursuing significant business changes and more damages in our second anti-trust case against the UFC."

A second case, Johnson v Zuffa, remains in court. That lawsuit covers fighters up to the present day and seeks permanent changes to UFC contract and business practises.

The anti-trust lawsuits had sought up to $1.6bn (£1.25bn) in damages.

The UFC merged with World Wrestling Entertainment in 2023 to form the TKO Group.