Second Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against UFC by Javier Vazquez, Dennis Hallman

Entitled Vazquez et al v. Zuffa, LLC, the complaint names former UFC fighters Javier Vazquez and Dennis Hallman as plaintiffs. BloodyElbow.com first reported news of the second-antitrust suit, which appears to be identical to the one filed by Cung Le, Jon Fitch and Nate Quarry last week.

It is currently unclear as to why the separate suit was filed, or if the plaintiffs named on the separate complaints will eventually be combined into one suit. The same legal team that represented Le, Fitch and Quarry is also representing Vazquez and Hallman. While no formal decision had been made last week, counsel for the initial case did say during a press conference that more fighters could be included in the lawsuit as time progresses.

According to a release sent out last week, the multi-million dollar lawsuit accuses the UFC of “illegally maintaining monopoly and monopsony power by systematically eliminating competition from rival promoters, artificially suppressing fighters’ earnings from bouts and merchandising and marketing activities through restrictive contracting and other exclusionary practices.”

Vazquez fought just once in the Octagon, capturing a unanimous decision against Joe Stevenson at UFC Live 4 on June 26, 2011. Prior to that, the fighter known as “Showtime” posted a 2-3 mark in the Zuffa-owned WEC from August 2009 to November 2010.

Hallman, meanwhile, was released by the Las Vegas-based promotion in 2012 after he failed to make weight for a lightweight contest against Thiago Tavares at UFC on FX 5, resulting in the cancellation of the bout. Hallman was paid both his show and win money for the proposed fight despite his release. The 39-year-old debuted in the Octagon at UFC 29 in December 2000 and has had multiple stints with the promotion as part of a 72-bout pro career.