Joe Rogan pushes back on UFC antitrust lawsuit: “It seems to be connected politically”
UFC commentator Joe Rogan has commented on the company’s ongoing antitrust lawsuit.
On April 13th, the UFC will hold its milestone 300th pay-per-view event. The card features incredible matchups, including Justin Gaethje vs. Max Holloway, and Kayla Harrison’s bantamweight debut. Two days later, they will head to court in Nevada.
For years now, fighters including Cung Le and Nate Quarry have been bankrolling a lawsuit against the UFC. The suit accuses the promotion of purposely keeping down fighter pay through anti-competitive tactics. Those tactics include buying out competition and controlling the market for top fighters competing in the sport.
The UFC brass has largely been quiet on the lawsuit, with the exception of a recent comment from Dana White. Now, commentator Joe Rogan has commented on the upcoming trial. In a recent ‘Fight Companion’ stream with Brendan Schaub and others, the analyst discussed the lawsuit.
There, Joe Rogan seemed to take a few issues with it. While he admitted that he would pay fighters better if he were the promoter, he’s not sure all of the talk about the UFC being a monopoly will hold up. Especially compared to other sporting leagues, such as the NFL and NBA.
Granted, the revenue share that goes to the athletes in those leagues is largely why the UFC is going to trial. While the company considers itself in the same conversation as the NFL and NBA, the Dana White-led promotion only pays 13-14% of revenue. Meanwhile, around 50% of revenue, goes to athletes in other sporting leagues. With that in mind, Rogan believes that there could be political forces at play.
Image via EssentiallySports
Joe Rogan weighs in on the UFC antitrust lawsuit
“They’re definitely the best at it, but here’s the problem with the monopoly argument,” Joe Rogan stated on a recent Fight Companion podcast earlier this month. “You can make that argument with the NBA, you can make that argument with the NFL, you can make that with Major League Baseball… Well, they bought out the competition, which is definitely true.”
He continued, “They bought out Affliction, they bought out Strikeforce. No [it’s not illegal], they do it in everything. In some businesses, they will break you up if you have a monopoly. And, it seems to be, connected politically. Like, how much money are you donating to the Democratic Party? How much money are you donating to the Republican Party? How much money do you spend on whatever programs do they want?… Whatever this, whatever that, whatever foundations you have to play this game.”
“Still, if people complain, and a lawsuit comes about, there is this possibility that you could be a monopoly.” Joe Rogan concluded. “But, there’s a lot of monopolies man.”
If the UFC loses the trial, it could pay up to $1.6 billion in damages to over 1,200 fighters who competed between 2010 and 2017.
What do you make of these comments from UFC commentator Joe Rogan? Do you agree with him?
