Mark Hunt’s lawsuit against the UFC, Dana White, and Brock Lesnar has been conclusively dismissed by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, affirming a previous decision due to insufficient evidence of damages, leaving Hunt responsible for legal fees.
Mark Hunt has hit a brick wall in his legal battle against the UFC, Dana White, and Brock Lesnar. The saga began after his 2016 fight with Lesnar at UFC 200.
On Tuesday, a three-judge panel from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Judge Jennifer Dorsey’s decision. This ruling dismissed Hunt’s lawsuit, which started with battery, fraud, and conspiracy allegations. It ended with claims that the UFC deceived him by setting up a fight against an opponent on performance-enhancing drugs.
Initially, Hunt lost to Lesnar by unanimous decision. However, the result was later overturned to a no-contest when Lesnar tested positive for clomiphene—a banned substance for UFC athletes.
The panel reaffirmed Dorsey’s 2023 decision dismissing Hunt’s remaining claims against the UFC. Court House News broke the story first.
“Unfortunately, Hunt does not point to any evidence in the record of any physical, emotional, economic, or reputational damage,” the decision stated. Despite claiming such evidence exists, Hunt admitted it wasn’t “adequately presented.”
The court further noted that a nonmoving party can’t just hope evidence will appear at trial. Without proof of damages from the defendants’ actions, they had to affirm.
After several failed appeals, Hunt lost his attorneys and represented himself. The lawsuit initially faced rejection but got a second chance when the Ninth Circuit Court allowed fraud and battery claims to proceed.
Yet again, this attempt flopped as Dorsey dismissed these claims. She cited Hunt’s failure to provide necessary evidence for his theories.
With Dorsey’s decision now affirmed, Hunt’s lawsuit against the UFC is effectively over. He’s still responsible for legal fees incurred during the case.
Back in 2023, when the initial ruling came out, Dana White called Hunt “delusional.” He added that Hunt would have to pay some legal fees. Now it seems that’s exactly what’s happening with this final court ruling.