Mayweather-McGregor class-action lawsuit over streaming problems settled with refunds

The UFC and its streaming partner are expected to settle a class-action lawsuit over streaming problems with “The Money Fight” between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor, awarding partial or full refunds to fans unable to watch the blockbuster event in its entirety.

The settlement, which has met preliminary approval from a federal judge in Nevada, offers “tiered refunds” to fans depending on how much of the event they were unable to watch due to technical difficulties, according to a press release issued by Hart Robinovitch Zimmerman Reed LLP, which represents plaintiffs in the suit against the UFC and streaming partner NeuLion.

Fans who missed over 5 minutes of Mayweather vs. McGregor will get a full refund of the $99.99 pay-per-view price. Those who missed some, but less than 5 minutes, will get $50. And those who missed only preliminary bouts will get $25.

Fans who also were out money for food and beverage bought for viewing parties will receive a smaller token of consideration: They get a choice between one to three months of free access to UFC Fight Pass or a $5 payment.

The settlement will move toward final approval after a comment period and a fairness hearing scheduled for July 20.

The class-action lawsuit was filed this past October by fight fan Cameron Park, who alleged the UFC and Neulion violated state consumer protection laws when they delivered a faulty pay-per-view product. It was one of eight class-action suits filed by disgruntled fans after high demand overwhelmed online and broadcast platforms carrying the event, resulting in widespread outages.

As MMAjunkie previously reported, one fan’s lawsuit was sent to arbitration after a judge ruled that Showtime’s terms of use gave proper notification that any disputes would be resolved without the court.

Showtime and the UFC offered refunds to those affected by the technical difficulties immediately after the event. They downplayed the severity of technical glitches encountered by fans, who flooded social media with complaints as outages began.

Despite the issues, UFC President Dana White claimed the spectacle showdown between then-UFC lightweight champ McGregor (21-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC, 0-1 boxing) and boxing king Mayweather (50-0 boxing) set a record for the most lucrative pay-per-view event in history, drawing 6.7 million worldwide buys. But Showtime executive Stephen Espinoza said the event did not break the domestic pay-per-view record, resulting in an ugly war of words that continues to this day.

This past Saturday, Mayweather said he remains interested in fighting in the UFC, but said Showtime and CBS would need to be involved. At the press conference for UFC 223, White said, “that ain’t happening” and called Espinoza several unflattering names.

For complete coverage of “The Money Fight: Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor,” check out the UFC Events section of the site.