Judge rules in favor of UFC, forces Bellator to relocate lawsuit to Nevada

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is trying to prove that it is not, in fact, a monopoly and mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters yearning to make a living in the face-punching business have access to green grass and high tides throughout the land of combat sports.

These folks agree.

But not everyone is prepared to roll over and play dead, which is why select UFC fighters from days gone by have assembled to challenge the promotion in court, seeking monetary damages and all that jazz.

More on that ongoing lawsuit here.

As part of its defense, UFC asked the courts to subpoena Bellator MMA, widely-recognized as the world’s number two fight promotion, operating with the deep pockets of Viacom while under the direction of MMA mastermind Scott Coker.

Who does stuff like this.

As you might expect, Coker and Co. are in no big hurry to hand over their paperwork to the competition. Not only does it help an enemy in need, it exposes the innermost workings of the operation and could be a detriment to its core business.

Otherwise known as an “illegal scheme.”

That’s why Bellator MMA filed a lawsuit of its own, trying to halt UFC from getting its greedy hands on anything pertaining to the Spike-televised promotion. While the proceedings were started in Los Angeles, Calif., U.S. Magistrate Judge Rozella Oliver ruled in favor of the UFC’s motion to transfer the case to U.S. District Court in Nevada, home of the fighter lawsuit.

That’s according to a report from Sports Business Journal.

It should be noted that Nevada makes a gazillion dollars per year from UFC live events and while I’m not suggesting that would have any influence on legal proceedings, there are certain considerations when ruling for (or against) an organization that generates that sort of cash flow.

Besides, when has there ever been corruption in MMA?