UFC shuts down illegal PPV stream, seizes website records and threatens to prosecute viewers

If you're one of the scurvy pirates who illegally streamed the UFC 169 pay-per-view (PPV) event, you might want to start planning your getaway.

That's because ZUFFA, parent company of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), has successfully shut down www.cagewatcher.eu, a website busted for streaming live video feeds, free of charge, to those mixed martial arts (MMA) fans who were too cheap to pay for them.

You know who you are!

In addition, the combat sports promotion will "vigorously pursue" individual users with the help of Lonstein Law Office, after obtaining a list of email addresses, IP addresses, and user names stored in the website's database, which can be used to identify infringers.

From today's release:

Lonstein Law Office has successfully prosecuted hundreds of claims for the UFC organization for sites illegally streaming content and individual users since 2007. UFC's status as the industry leader in pay-per-view television has helped it become a leader in cracking down on companies and individuals watching and facilitating the watching of pay-per-view events online, without paying.

This is not the first time ZUFFA has gone after its fans.

There have been several documented cases of seized website domains over the last few years, which resulted in messy legal battles with FirstRowSports, Justin.tv, and Greenfeedz, just to name a few. In fact, the promotion outspent both MLB and NBA in its fight against streamers.

Often to mixed results.

Online piracy has been a hot button issue in recent years thanks to the anti-piracy bill SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act), which caused a public outcry for digital freedom and prompted a few well-documented attacks from vengeful hackers. UFC President Dana White, however, eventually busted those (expletive) nerds.

Will you be next?