Last Tuesday, Judge Richard Boulware refused to approve the settlement after TKO Group Holdings agreed to pay $335 million to settle the Le v. Zuffa and Johnson v. Zuffa class action lawsuits. TKO and UFC stated that they have evaluated all the options and initiated discussions with plaintiffs’ counsel to settle the two cases.
In an interview with Kevin Iole, UFC CEO Dana White was asked about the judge’s refusal to approve the settlement. White said that he feels Judge Richard Boulware has taken the case personally. White claimed he and former Zuffa owner Lorenzo Fertitta went to high school with Boulware.
“This is not something that I focus on. I let lawyers deal with that stuff. But let me say this—it’s probably the only thing I’ve said since this whole thing’s been going on: It’s getting to a point now where this feels personal. You know, I went to high school with [Richard Boulware]. Me and Lorenzo went to high school with him. I don’t know what the hell me or Lorenzo did to him in high school, but this seems very, very personal.”