Bellator categorically denies false medicals allegations
Bellator denies allegations of false medicals, and wants $10,000 back
Former Bellator MMA employee Zach Light filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court in May against his employer and parent company Viacom, citing wrongful termination.
Light, a former fighter, was hired as Bellator’s Talent Development Director by founder Bjorn Rebney, and was eventually fired by the new management team brought in after Rebney’s ouster.
Paul Gift combed through the legal filing for BE, and found some disturbing allegations, centering on three areas – faked medicals, collusive matchmaking, and not maintaining the lines between promotion management and fighter management.
Light charges that the promotion ignored faked medicals on at least two occasions, and that Coker and or his employees rebuffed his reports of these fundamental safety violations.
Light also reports that he was diagnosed with severe depression and anxiety after Bellator 136 on April 10, 2015, necessitating medical leave through March 10, 2016. Light says he was terminated on March 17, 2016. If all the allegations are true – and there is no evidence thus far that there is, beyond the word of a terminated employee – then Bellator’s promoter’s license could conceivably in jeopardy.
Now Paul Gift reports, again for BE, that on Tuesday Bellator filed an Answer categorically denying the allegations, and filed a Cross-Complaint accusing him of theft and conversion. “Conversion” is a fancy word for theft.
“Bellator and Viacom deny each and every allegation of the Complaint,” wrote Bellator, adding, “and further deny that Light is entitled to any relief whatsoever.”
The Cross-Complaint alleges that Light was experiencing financial distress and was loaded nearly $10,000, only about half of which was repaid. There is a further allegation that Light did not return to Bellator some $4,600 that had been collected for Bellator 136.
Multiple pieces of evidence in support of the allegations were provided.
BE learned that the California State Athletic Commission stopped accepting fighter medicals from Adam Rendon in 2014, and that he is under investigation by the relevant office in California.