- Wanderlei Silva plans to use the money from the UFC antitrust lawsuit settlement to fund his medical treatment after suffering from CTE
- UFC’s parent company, TKO, was set to pay a number of fighters as part of the settlement back in March 2014
Wanderlei Silva is suffering from a serious health condition and wants the $375 million UFC antitrust lawsuit settlement to be approved ASAP to fund his medical treatment.
Silva needs the money
In line with the ongoing antitrust lawsuit a group of UFC legends filed against the UFC, “The Axe Murderer” submitted a declaration which states that he incurred some health problems stemming from his time fighting for the promotion. Silva noted that he has been experiencing symptoms of CTE.
According to the Brazilian, he badly needs the money that he and some of his UFC peers are about to receive from the settlement which is in the region of $375 million to pay for medical expenses.
Check out a copy of Silva’s declaration MMA journalist John S. Nash obtained below:
Declaration of Wanderlei Silva pic.twitter.com/w7eJQdKNou
— John S. Nash (@heynottheface) October 7, 2024
Silva last fought professionally in 2018 and had been with the UFC from 2007 to 2013.
The UFC are set to pay in installments
The antitrust lawsuit was first filed by UFC legend Cung Le back in 2014. It took 10 years before the UFC’s parent company, TKO agreed to a settlement reportedly amounting to $335 million.
In the said settlement back in March 2024, TKO was set to pay a number of UFC fighters in installments. Reports stated that about 1,200 past and present UFC fighters are expecting to receive a portion of the figure mentioned above.
The UFC has been dealing with the case for a decade now and the number of fighters accusing the top-tier MMA promotion of abuse of power and underpaying its fighters. So far, YouTuber-turned-boxing star Jake Paul has been one of the most prominent combat sports personalities leading the charge in demanding that the UFC approves a significant fighter pay increase.
