Former UFC star says he warned Dana White rigid fighter contracts would "bite him in the a*s" amid $375M class action settlement

A former Jon Jones opponent has come out to claim that he was one of the driving forces behind the class action lawsuit that ended with the UFC reportedly paying out $375 million. He exposed how the promotion allegedly controlled fighter contracts and wages for over a decade.

Brandon Vera, once a contender in the UFC light heavyweight division, joined several other fighters in challenging the UFC’s system. They argued that restrictive contracts and the buyout of rival promotions left athletes with little choice but to accept undervalued deals.

The case, which lasted 10 years, will distribute settlements ranging from $15,000 to more than $1 million, with the average fighter receiving about $250,000. Speaking in a recent episode of The Legendaddy Podcast, Vera said:

"After you buy all those companies, all those contracts, now you don't fight them either for the money that they were worth. You just wait them out until they have to sign a new contract with the UFC, right? So, really, it was called antitrust [monopoly]. It was an antitrust...They went around and specifically bought up companies to control contracts."

He added:

"I told you, Dana, one day you're going to have to learn how to respect your fighters. And it looks like it's bite you in the a*s now. I love it, man. And then there's more lawsuits coming. I have more class actions for your a*s. Dana, what happened?"

Check out Brandon Vera's comments below:

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Dana White has claimed that UFC fighter pay could rise after $7.7B Paramount deal

Dana White insists UFC fighters will benefit from the $7.7 billion media-rights deal with Paramount. While he promised increases, no specific figures or timelines were given.

The move comes months after the promotion agreed to a $375 million settlement in a class action over fighter compensation. Speaking at the DWCS Week 1 post-fight press conference, White said:

"The low-hanging fruit that’s easy to answer? Bonuses are obviously going up. That’ll be big, and forget about the tide rising with all the other fighters, just the number that the bonuses bring to a fighter, it’s millions of dollars.”