Ortiz declined to join lawsuit against UFC
He would seem to be the perfect candidate to join a class-action lawsuit filed this week against his former employer, but Ortiz declined.
Through his career, Tito Ortiz battled the UFC for better pay and now fights for rival organization, Bellator. He would seem to be the perfect candidate to join a class-action lawsuit filed this week against his former employer, but Ortiz declined:
While Ortiz repeatedly declined any comment on the matter in an interview today with MMAjunkie, Prajin subsequently confirmed that the UFC Hall of Famer and current Bellator MMA star was indeed approached to be a plaintiff in the litigation, which alleges that UFC parent company Zuffa LLC engaged in anti-competitive practices for its own exploitative gain and at the expense of fighters and the MMA industry.
Yes, (he was approached), Prajin said. He felt that it was just best to not be a part of that suit.
Prajin said that approximately a year-and-a-half ago, he and Ortiz first met with Rob Maysey, a chief architect of the litigation filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Northern California.
Although Maysey left a positive impression on Prajin and Ortiz, the meeting was not a success for him, Prajin said. While Ortiz was intrigued by a challenge in court of Zuffa, Prajin said, he did not want his name to be front and center on the lawsuit, despite a contentious past with the fight promotion.
Obviously, everybody wants a better situation for the fighters, as far as pay and benefits, Prajin said. But Tito just felt that at that particular time, he wanted to opt out.