Herman, Bellator locked in legal battle
Though he signed his name to the contract 21 months ago, as it now stands, Dave Herman will be conspicuously…
Though he signed his name to the contract 21 months ago, as it now stands, Dave Herman will be conspicuously absent from the Bellator Fighting Championships season three heavyweight tournament that kicks off Aug. 12 in Hollywood, Fla.
Bellator attorney Patrick English confirmed to Sherdog.com on Tuesday that Herman will not be taking the eighth and final slot in the field, as the fighter and promotion are embroiled in ongoing litigation.
Herman, 25, is suing Bellator Fighting Championships for allegedly breaching a six-fight, 30-month contract he signed into with the promotion on Oct. 28, 2008. Herman is also claiming tortuous interference on the part of Bellator for a handful of fight assignments — including a four-fight contract offer from Strikeforce — he’s tried to secure since January. The promotion is countersuing for alleged breach of contract as well.
In 2008, Herman said he was really excited to sign with the debuting Bellator league because he felt the slickly packaged promotion had potential to be a player in the market. Back then, Herman was an undefeated prospect who’d gained buzz for three consecutive TKO wins in EliteXC. Bellator scouted Herman for an eight-man heavyweight tournament the promotion planned for fall 2009, though the fighter’s contract stipulated that Bellator had to provide him at least two fights in one year’s time.
We were told the tournament was happening in season two, but we didn’t want to have Dave inactive, so we added the clause to ensure he got two fights before November 2009, said Mike Camp, Herman’s former manager.
Also a part of those initial conversations — according to Herman’s camp and disputed by Bellator’s attorney — was a single fight that Herman had already agreed to with the Sengoku promotion in Japan that January. Herman would face Korean Mu Bae Choi.
According to Herman, he offered to postpone signing the Bellator contract till after the Jan. 4 bout to avoid any confusion but was told by Bellator’s matchmaker at the time, Chris Sanford, that an addendum would be tacked onto the contract.
According to a copy of Herman’s contract obtained by Sherdog.com, the addendum states that the fighter would receive a $12,000 signing bonus and have the ability to participate in bouts outside of Bellator with the promotion’s written permission. Specific bouts were not identified in the addendum.
