Former champion Gegard Mousasi filed a lawsuit in New Jersey against Bellator, and the promotionās new owners at PFL, over numerous complaints including breach of contract.
The lawsuit was filed on Wednesday with several PFL executives named in the lawsuit including company co-founder Donn Davis, PFL CEO Peter Murray and matchmaker Mike Kogan.
The claims from Mousasi against Bellator include ābreach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, unjust enrichment, a claim for relief for Monopsonization.ā
In the 81-page filing, Mousasiās attorneys detail the contract that the veteran middleweight signed with Bellator in 2017 and then agreed to an extension in 2020 that was later amended in 2023.
Under the terms of the deal, Mousasi would be paid a āguaranteed purse of $150,000 for his first four bouts, and then after his first four bouts were completed, Gegard would receive guaranteed purse for each subsequent bout of $200,000.ā
Mousasi would also receive a āfinish bonus of $50,000 for any bouts won by knockout or submission, plus a promotional fee for each such bout of $600,000. Accordingly, after his fourth bout was completed, Gegard was guaranteed to earn $800,000 per bout, and up to $850,000.ā
The lawsuit details Mousasiās complaints over his lack of activity after completing the first four fights under his contract and then accepting a fight against Fabian Edwards ādespite carrying an injury that effectively forced him to fight Edwards with one armā because he was worried that the promotion was going to sideline him indefinitely.
Mousasi claims that his situation only got worse after Bellator sold to PFL in November 2023 and a lack of communication with promotion officials continued to keep him out of action. The former UFC fighter expressed his frustration when speaking to MMA Fighting back in April.
āThe problem is we cannot get ahold of them,ā Mousasi said at the time. āThey refuse to answer us back. Iāve been training, Iāve been ready. But like I said, they donāt promote me, or people think Iām retired actually. People donāt even know. After my fight, Fabian Edwards fought twice, and since then, they donāt even talk to us. I know I have a contract with them. I know they are obligated to give me those fights. Iām just waiting and I donāt know. Just waiting, what can I do?
āI talked to Mike Kogan, he suggested, āWell, you make too much money.ā He said, āI would get back to you after I talk to them because they cannot let you hang like this.ā I havenāt heard from him either.ā
The lawsuit lays out months of back and forth between Mousasiās manager and PFL executives as attempts were made to resolve the situation, although the now 39-year-old fighter remained out of action.
Then in May, PFL and Bellator announced that Mousasi had been released from his contract after threatening legal action.
Now Mousasi has followed through with the lawsuit alleging breach of contract and claims that Bellator/PFL āengaged in anti-competitive monopsony conductā while claiming he was misclassified as an independent contractor rather than an employee.
Mousasi is seeking ācompensatory, consequential and/or equitable monetary damages in an amount to be determined at trial, but not less than $15 millionā as well as punitive damages and attorney fees.
I agree with the premise of this lawsuit but never really understood numbers in a thing like this. Iām always seeing this crazy numbers and wondering how they came up with them. Fighter who wasnāt offered a fight could have fought 3x during that period, which would have yielded him about 2.4 million dollars (gross pay).
Files a lawsuit and looks for 15 million dollars, which is over 5 times the amount. How does that work exactly? I see the car accident signs lawyers have on billboards around here. āHit by a truck? We estimate youāll receive 3 million dollars!ā 3 million dollars for what? To get a new car and get physical rehab?
Go high and settle mid point
I guess itās hard for me to understand because itās hard for me to imagine a scenario where I would sue somebody. Just not my thing, asking somebody else for money.
Heās not ASKING someone else for money. They signed a contract, itās not like heās saying āplease pay me for nothingā, heās saying āyou signed on the dotted line to provide with X amount of compensation in return for my labour, you are not holding up your end of the agreed upon contract, so pay meā. Not even remotely the same as āasking for moneyā, especially when youāve made efforts to resolve it without litigation and are met with silence.
You have to sue for 3x the amount because after court costs and attorneys fees you are left with about what you would have made. Additionally theirs whatās called punitive damages. Those are to punish specifically.
and or also send a message to others that might engage in the same behavior to instead honor their agreements and or settle it prior to taking up court time and go through trial.
Pain and suffering amigo
And to act as a deterrent For companies to do dumb shitā¦ And then maybe later settle in court
They make it hurt a little. So they do the right thing the first time