Mark Shapiro's commentary at the Morgan Stanley Tech Conference left plenty open to interpretation, so @heynottheface.bsky.social & I discussed it at length in today's episode. There's a lot more & you can listen at the link. 2/2 heynottheface.substack.com/p/antitrust-...

Someone is suing UFC over subpar events and monopolization but will their suit go anywhere? @heynottheface.bsky.social & I discuss this in today's episode, as well as the latest filings in the antitrust cases that are asking for sanctions on UFC over spoliation of evidence. 1/2

On today's episode of Hey Not The Face! we discuss the Plaintiffs in the UFC antitrust cases motion for sanctions against the Defendants, the new class action complaint against the UFC on behalf of fans, TKO's 2025 SEC filings, Frank Warren's suit & more. heynottheface.substack.com/p/finally-so...

Plaintiffs in the UFC antitrust cases have filed a motion for sanction against the Defendant, alleging an "ongoing pattern of discovery violations" and the intentional destruction of critical evidence.

On today’s episode of Hey Not The Face! @crooklyn.bsky.social and I discuss the reaction to Conor Benn’s purse, Rousey claiming she’s bringing competition to the biz, the White House card’s price tag & Dominance MMA’s opposition to being held in contempt. open.substack.com/pub/heynotth...

Dominance MMA has filed an opposition to the motion by Plaintiffs to hold them in contempt. It claims substantial compliance, ambiguity of the prior order, 3rd party confidentialiy, lack of control over devices, and concerns about defamatory comments directed at Abdelaziz.

On today’s episode of Hey Not The Face! @crooklyn.bsky.social and I discuss Rousey vs Carano announced Netflix fight, Vergil Ortiiz & Golden Boys court battles, give an update on the UFC antitrust case & more. heynottheface.substack.com/p/will-rouse...

If you're interested in the business of current boxing/MMA & want to get into the details of how TKO is monopolizing combat sports (& also keep abreast of the lawsuits against them by fighters) I have to recommend John Nash @heynottheface.bsky.social and Nate Wilcox' @kidnate.bsky.social podcasts

After an apparently "revolt" by Ali Abdelaziz, Dominance MMA is refusing to comply with discovery requests in Johnson v Zuffa. Plaintiffs are asking court to hold Dominance in contempt, compel production, and order Dominance to pay legal fees.

TKO's Mark Shapiro & Ari Emanuel hope to make Zuffa Boxing the 3rd arm of their power triumvirate but how long will it take to get to $20B? @heynottheface.bsky.social & I discuss this and Floyd Mayweather's legal complaint in today's episode. We also talk Taxi Driver's 50th anniversary. 1/2

On today’s episode of Hey Not The Face! @crooklyn.bsky.social and I discuss Floyd Mayweather’s complaint against Showtime & Stephen Espinoza, TKO’s plans to turn Zuffa Boxing into a $20B entity & the 50th anniversary of Taxi Driver! heynottheface.substack.com/p/how-fast-c...

We look at testimony from Dana White, Tracy Long, Hunter Campbell, Eric Yee and Elliott Howard and weigh in on believability, and also discuss Judge Boulware's active role in the hearing. We also analyze possible sanctions & what's next. 2/2 heynottheface.substack.com/p/summary-of...

Hey yo! @heynottheface.bsky.social & I just did a comprehensive review of the 2-day UFC antitrust spoilation hearing so we decided to drop it immediately. Fresh off the recorder to your ears AND we have a PDF chart exhibit of missing/data devices for your perusal. 1/2

Check out @heynottheface.bsky.social's court room coverage of Dana White and Tracy Long's spoilation testimony from yesterday and share it around. heynottheface.substack.com/p/recap-on-d...

Going to go live on the Hey Not The Face! Substack in about 10 minutes to discuss today’s hearing. heynottheface.substack.com

Could Zuffa Boxing's $100M deal end up with more than 12 events for 2026? Is UFC really taking on the entire bill for the White House card? These are some topics @heynottheface.bsky.social & I discussed on today's episode. 2/2 heynottheface.substack.com/p/could-the-...

On today’s episode of Hey Not The Face! @CrooklynMMA and I go over the recent filings in the UFC antitrust cases, why Dana Whites’s hearing is back on, some of the more interesting things in Thomas Hauser’s article on Zuffa Boxing, and more. heynottheface.substack.com/p/could-the-...

From the 9th Circuit tonight: Zuffa/UFC’s petition for a writ of mandamus is denied as moot. The motion for a stay is denied as moot.

New filing - Judge Boulware updated the UFC discovery order. He vacated in camera privilege reviews , but the Feb 4-5 spoliation hearing proceeds. It targets 5-7 years of missing Dana White records amid a "pattern of obfuscation".

On today’s episode of Hey Not The Face! @crooklyn.bsky.social and I go over some potentially really important happenings in the ongoing UFC antitrust case and then review the debut of Zuffa Boxing and the UFC on Paramount. substack.com/@johnsnash/n...

On today’s episode of Hey Not The Face! @crooklyn.bsky.social and I go over some potentially really important happenings in the ongoing UFC antitrust case and then review the debut of Zuffa Boxing and the UFC on Paramount. substack.com/@johnsnash/n...

Check out @heynottheface.bsky.social & I as we do a deep dive on the barrage of amendments introduced to TKO's Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act bill & the ABC panic they induced. 2/2 heynottheface.substack.com/p/deep-dive-...

On today’s episode of Hey Not The Face! @crooklyn.bsky.social & I go over the amendments made to the proposed Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act. What was changed in the bill? How would that impact the industry especially club shows? heynottheface.substack.com/p/deep-dive-...

A couple days ago Defendant filed a mandamus petition which asked for Judge Boulware to be remanded. Tonight they've filed an emergency motion (Zuffa LLC, et al. v. United States District Court for the District of Nevada, Las Vegas) for an administrative stay.

ABC just had an emergency meeting about the changes put into the Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act yesterday in committee markup.

Stats, Graphs & Lawsuits www.youtube.com/watch?v=paft...

On today’s episode of Hey Not The Face! @crooklyn.bsky.social & I discuss TKO’s plans for Zuffa Boxing as their first event approaches, go over the Vergil Ortiz v Golden Boy lawsuit including his contract terms, look at Queensberry’s recent finances, & more heynottheface.substack.com/p/vergil-ort...

Is Dana White being over-confident when he tells fans "Don't watch it" regarding complaints about matchmaking decisions? Check out our latest episode. 2/2 heynottheface.substack.com/p/did-4-boxe...

Did 4 boxers make more $ than the entire UFC roster in 2025? Are Laura Sanko's comments about boring fighters being cut in favor of violent ones troublesome? @heynottheface.bsky.social discuss these topics & more in today's episode. 1/2

On today’s episode of Hey Not The Face! @crooklyn.bsky.social and I discuss whether or not 4 boxers really made more than the entire UFC roster in 2025, who the real #2 mma promotion is, what are the implications of cutting all the “boring” fighters and more. open.substack.com/pub/heynotth...

On today’s episode of Hey Not The Face! @crooklyn.bsky.social & I give an update on the UFC antitrust cases, discuss why every year is now UFC’s best year, examine how much total capital ONE Championship has raised over the years & how much they have left, & more. open.substack.com/pub/heynotth...

Major correction on my previous post (which I deleted but screengrab below). ONE did not raise $68m they raised an additional $6.8m from their Caymon Group. I misread it because it looked like it matched the total capital they had raised (around $530m v 53m here.) Whoops, sorry.

On today’s episode of Hey Not The Face! @crooklyn.bsky.social and I give an update of the current UFC antitrust cases, the price of UFC events, and we go over messages between Mick Maynard and a manager that were disclosed in a Brazilian court. open.substack.com/pub/heynotth...

You know when you're a kid and your buddy asks you what superpower you want? I want whatever these guys have. Apparently they can make people hand over money like magic.

On today’s episode of Hey Not The Face! @crooklyn.bsky.social and I give an update of the current UFC antitrust cases, the price of UFC events, and we go over messages between Mick Maynard and a manager that were disclosed in a Brazilian court. open.substack.com/pub/heynotth...

On today's episode of Hey Not the Face! it's a potpourri as @crooklyn.bsky.social & I discuss the UFC's deal with Polymarkets, Joe Rogan's correct analysis of monopsony power, explaining to Cormier why NFL players get 50% of revenue and more. open.substack.com/pub/heynotth...

On today's episode of Hey Not the Face! it's a potpourri as @crooklyn.bsky.social & I discuss the UFC's deal with Polymarkets, Joe Rogan's correct analysis of monopsony power, explaining to Cormier why NFL players get 50% of revenue and more. open.substack.com/pub/heynotth...

I know only wierdos like me enjoyed the antitrust coverage more than actual MMA fights this past year but I am grateful for @heynottheface.bsky.social and @crooklyn.bsky.social continuing to cover this. Somehow I missed that the original Paramount Skydance merger talks happened at a UFC event.

It's our last episode of 2025 and @heynottheface.bsky.social & I break down the four biggest stories of 2025. It's a solid hour-and-a-half of how UFC, their parent company (TKO), and the Saudis have managed to use monopolistic leverage to control nearly every atom of combat sports. 1/2

On today’s episode of Hey Not The Face! @crooklyn.bsky.social & I look back at the biggest stories & trends in the business of combat sports in 2025 and what we can expect for 2026. x.com/heynotthefac...

I count 10 cities in 2025 that are on track to have the fewest murders since at least 1970. Newark is on pace to have the fewest murders since 1956 (though only have data through Oct this year) and San Francisco is on pace to have the fewest murders since 1942.

Martin Scorsese: ‘Rob Reiner Was My Friend’ www.nytimes.com/2025/12/25/o...

On today’s episode of Hey Not The Face! we have an interview with Gabriel Burris, a young amateur boxing who has turned into one of the most cogent opponents to TKO’s new Ali Act bill open.substack.com/pub/heynotth...

#UFC #Zuffa mmapayout.com/2025/12/23/c...

Cirkunovs v Zuffa (UFC antitrust) news "IT IS HEREBY ORDERED the Spoilation Hearing is set for February 4th and February 5th of 2026 at 9:00 a.m. Mr. Dana White will testify first and then Ms. Tracy Long."

🚨🚨FREE EPISODE ALERT🚨🚨 Today's @heynottheface.bsky.social podcast features @apexwarrior.bsky.social (Matt Brown) in a terrific interview. He talks about the fighter-promoter relationship, the Ali Act, how most managers in the business are a letdown & more heynottheface.substack.com/p/interview-...

These are some of the topics @heynottheface.bsky.social & I cover on today's episode. Catch it here. 2/2 heynottheface.substack.com/p/what-happe...

On today’s episode of Hey Not The Face! @CrooklynMMA and I go over yesterday’s congressional hearing on the new Muhammad Ali Enhancement Act (as Nick Khan refers to it.) Who spoke, what was said, and what do we think is going to happen next? open.substack.com/pub/heynotth...

Yesterday's Ali Act Congressional hearing had a lot to be concerned about but it did have a high note & plenty of robber-baron-style comedic moments (Lawrence Epstein is unintentionally funny). @heynottheface.bsky.social goes over everything in detail & gives letter grades for all. 1/2

On today’s episode of Hey Not The Face! @CrooklynMMA and I go over yesterday’s congressional hearing on the new Muhammad Ali Enhancement Act (as Nick Khan refers to it.) Who spoke, what was said, and what do we think is going to happen next? open.substack.com/pub/heynotth...