Yesterday a lawsuit was filed with the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, leveling serious allegations against MMA promoter Bellator.
The lawsuit alleges that Bellator wrongfully dismissed the Plaintiff Zachery Light, Bellator’s former “talent development director” who was terminated from his position on March 17, 2016.
The lawsuit alleges that Bellator engaged in a host of illegal or unethical practices which were met with indifference when the Plaintiff pointed these out to his employer. He alleges that this environment in turn led to anxiety and stress and eventually led to his termination.
The alleged practices include
- arranging various “collusive matches” where fighters represented by management allegedly disliked by the promotion were set up against opponents where they would likely “be badly beaten“
- asking the Plaintiff to negotiate with a fighter directly despite knowing the fighter was represented by a manger and further asking the plaintiff to “interfere with the manager/client relationship“
- allowing fighters to compete using forged/falsified medical reports
- hiring an an individual acting in an executive capacity for the promotion who simultaneously managed fighters
- Allowing an employee to drive a Bellator branded transport van to and from events on a suspended licence
The Plaintiff seeks damages for economic, general and punitive loss along with costs from Bellator and parent company Viacom Inc. A jury trial has been requested.
Bellator has not yet formally responded to the lawsuit and it is prudent to note that none of the allegations have yet to be proven in court.
Combat Sports Law 