Dana White Addresses First Lawsuit Against Zuffa Boxing

Matching rights allow a promoter to retain a boxer by matching the terms of a rival promotion’s offer. BOXXER also alleges that Zuffa Boxing signed Sam Hickey while he was still under contract with the company. This, however, isn’t the only controversial signing Zuffa Boxing has made this year. Earlier this year, Zuffa Boxing signed Jai Opetaia and Conor Benn, who were previously signed with Matchroom Boxing.

Although neither fighter was under long-term contract with Matchroom at the time, it came as a bit of a surprise considering their long association. Eddie Hearn, the Matchroom boss, expressed shock over Benn’s choice to move to Zuffa in particular. This trend of aggressively signing fighters shows Zuffa Boxing’s approach to the sport. The dispute bears similarities to the legal battle that unfolded when Eddie Alvarez attempted to leave Bellator MMA for the UFC.

Bellator exercised its contractual matching rights to retain Alvarez, triggering a lawsuit that ultimately drew the UFC into the dispute. The case was eventually resolved when Bellator agreed to release Alvarez, clearing the way for him to sign with the UFC in 2014. In any case, though, both Zuffa Boxing and Dana White should have seen this lawsuit coming from a mile away. 

Ben Shalom had already warned Dana White about the lawsuit

Just last week, Shalom spoke to Seconds Out during an interview, where he openly claimed that he would sue Zuffa for poaching its fighters. 

“I think they see me and they think ‘Oh, he’s a nice guy, he’s not going to do anything,'” said Shalom. “You can’t just go in and ignore that fighters are under contract and being paid by another promoter. Look, I know where in the world of Trump and in the world of this and the world of that, but there’s still some sort of business practice.”

Shalom, of course, is referring to Dana White’s close friendship with President Donald Trump. The UFC CEO is even orchestrating the UFC Freedom 250 card on the White House South Lawn on June 14 with backing from Trump. However, there’s no evidence that the relationship has helped Dana White illegally poach fighters from other promotions. 

“They ignored that we had a matching right on Chris Billam-Smith completely,” Shalom added. “Not just a matching right but an exclusive negotiation period. They’re ignoring that other fighters on that fight are actually completely under contract. What are you supposed to do? It’s crazy, to be honest. 

“Thankfully, we live in a country where you can’t do those types of things.”

It appears Zuffa Boxing has found itself in its first legal battle. But considering the number of lawsuits the UFC has been involved in over the years, there are several more to come.