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TKO Group Holdings, the parent company of UFC, has been in and out of court trying to defend itself from antitrust lawsuits filed by hundreds of current and former MMA fighters.
The biggest lawsuit against the UFC was originally filed in December of 2014 and represents more than 1,200 fighters.
Last year, a judge ruled that the lawsuit could go forward, but since then, TKO Group Holdings agreed to pay out a $375 million settlement, pending the judge’s approval.
Over 100 fighters have written letters to the judge in support of the settlement, including former UFC interim heavyweight champion Shane Carwin.
“I face serious challenges in meeting basic everyday expenses for food, shelter, and transportation and in basic life skills necessary to function,” Carwin wrote.
“These funds would also allow me to obtain the healthcare I need and keep a roof over my head and food on my table. The sad reality is that funds years from now may be of no use to me. I desperately need these funds now.”
This week, retired UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub addressed the UFC settlement on his podcast and how it would help former fighters like his friend Shane Carwin.
“Shane is smart amongst smart people,” Schaub said. “Shane got a degree from the School of Mines. That’s the Harvard of the f—— Midwest. School of Mines is so hard to get into and he dominated that s—. Dominated. One of the smartest people you will ever meet in Shane Carwin.
“He can barely tie his f—— shoes. He’s not doing great.”
Carwin won the interim UFC Heavyweight Championship in 2010 with a knockout of Frank Mir in the first round at UFC 111 in 2010. He was 12-0 after that fight. He would only fight two more times, losses to Brock Lesnar in 2010 and Junior dos Santos in 2011.
While Brendan Schaub sees what fighting has done to his friend, he doesn’t lay the blame completely at the feet of the UFC.
“I’m not hating on the UFC, I’m not hating on Dana [White],” he said. “This would have happened if Shane fought in PRIDE, if he fought in PFL, he fought in ONE Championship.”
Should the settlement be approved by the judge, MMA Fighting reports fighters would receive an average estimated payout of $250,000, with approximately 35 athletes receiving around $1 million.
Schaub just hopes the money gets to Carwin, and others, before it’s too late.
“He’s such a good person,” he said. “How can [the UFC] not just go ‘Yeah, man, that’s terrible. You can’t even afford housing and food, you lost your wife, the kids aren’t doing great, here you go, don’t worry about it.’ That’s pennies to these guys.”