LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Nevada district judge denied a $335 million settlement Tuesday in two UFC antitrust lawsuits brought by former fighters, potentially sending both sides back to the negotiating table.

Judge Richard Boulware set Aug. 19 for a status update for both cases with a tentative trial date for the one involving former MMA athlete Cung Le on Oct. 28. A firm trial date will be scheduled at the conference.

The UFC issued a statement saying it disagreed with the ruling and already was in contact with the opposing counsel, “who have expressed a willingness to engage in separate settlement discussions.”

Boulware did not explain his decision, but an opinion will be forthcoming, according to the court document.

The settlement was agreed to in March.

The two class-action lawsuits by former UFC fighters were led by Le, filed in 2014, and Kajan Johnson, filed in 2021. Several other fighters also were mentioned in the suits.

They alleged the UFC attempted to act as a monopoly and thus limited the fighters’ ability to maximize their earnings.

The UFC’s statement said the judge’s decision also was harmful to the athletes who agreed to the settlement.

“(By) taking the unusual step of denying the settlement at this preliminary approval stage, the Judge is also denying the athletes their right to be heard during this pivotal moment in the case,” the organization’s statement read.

Mixed Martial Arts Fighters Association, led by one of the athletes’ attorneys, posted on X, “We have a story to tell about the monopolization of MMA.”

___

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

Three people have died and nine were injured Tuesday in a deadly fight at a remote Nevada prison.

The injured inmates were transported from Ely State Prison for medical treatment following the violent outbreak. No police officers or prison staff were injured, according to the Nevada Department of Corrections. The prison has been placed under lockdown.

Prisons spokeswoman Teri Vance told the Elko Daily Free Press the fighting “was not a riot.”

Two of the victims were identified as Connor Brown, 22, and Zackaria Luz, 43. Luz, who is part of a white supremacist group, was involved in a previous prison riot and was currently being held on forgery charges, according to KLAS. Brown was in charge on a robbery charge. The third victim hasn’t been publicly named but was also part of a white supremacist group.

Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo’s office told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that “today’s incident is under investigation by local and statewide law enforcement agencies.” His office added that the brawl was gang-related.

Ely State Prison is Nevada’s only maximum-security prison, with a maximum capacity of 1,183 inmates, and employs about 400 staff members. It is also home to the state’s death row.

Earlier this year, two inmates died at Ely, bringing the total deaths at Nevada prisons to 21 this year. In July 2023, a 29-year-old man was stabbed at the state prison.

It was also the subject of a hunger strike in 2022 after inmates complained of food portions, conditions of confinement, property issues and disciplinary sanctions. The strike was voluntarily ended after 4 weeks. Prison officials promised to make a clarification on disciplinary action.

Ely, Nevada, is located about 250 miles north of Las Vegas.