Earlier this week, Bellator Fighting Championship filed a lawsuit against the Ultimate Fighting Championship for alleged use of one of its contracted fighters. Bellator claims that Jonathan Brookins was under contract with Bellator when Brookins accepted a slot on Spike TV’s reality series The Ultimate Fighter. Brookins is a cast member of this fall’s Team GSP v. Team Koscheck season.
In addition to the UFC, Bellator has sued Brookins and his manager in the lawsuit. According to Bellator’s CEO, Brookins’ management team hid the fact that Brookins was going to be on The Ultimate Fighter.
Via MMA Junkie:
“We’ve been offering the fighter fights, and hindsight being 20-20, we were lied to by his management saying he was injured and couldn’t accept fights,” Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney today told MMAjunkie.com. “We find out afterward he was filming and fighting on ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ – that he made the show and was in the house.”
Prior to The Ultimate Fighter, Brookins was allowed to fight for another organization on two occasions. However, Bellator approved the fights outside of Bellator.
Payout Perspective:
Bellator claims that the UFC interfered with the contractual relationship Brookins had with Bellator by offering Brookins a spot in The Ultimate Fighter. In addition, Bellator claims that Brookins and his manager misrepresented that Brookins was hurt or unavailable to fight for Bellator in order to preserve himself for The Ultimate Fighter.
Brookins’ management states that Bellator verbally told Brookins that he was released from his contract.
This lawsuit is similar to the Tennesee Titans suing USC and Lane Kiffin when Kiffin hired Titans assistant coach Kennedy Pola. In that case, Titans head coach Jeff Fisher claims that he was not notified by Kiffin that Kiffin was pursuing Pola. It is unlikely that the UFC sought approval from Bellator to pursue Brookins once he made the show.
Bellator’s lawsuit comes just weeks after Zuffa, the parent company of the UFC sued Bellator. Coincidence? Bellator’s lawsuit will depend on whether it can be show that the UFC caused Brookins to break its contract with Bellator. Brookins’ contract with Bellator will be a key issue in this case. If this lawsuit proceeds, we might be able to learn more about the nature of fighter contracts. How long are fighter contracts? Is it a set number of fights or an annual contract? If Brookins was released from his contract, did it have to be in writing or was a verbal release sufficient? Are there penalties for breach specifically included in the contract? If so, does the fighter have to pay?
Ironically, Zuffa’s lawsuit against Bellator was based in part on the alleged taking of propriety information included in UFC fighter contracts.
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