Ken Pavia (left) file photo: Al Quintero | Sherdog.com
In its first aggressive move against the Bellator Fighting Championships, the parent company of the UFC filed suit against the promotion and agent Ken Pavia for allegedly using confidential Zuffa LLC information in adjusting their business plan.
The suit, filed in a Nevada court, includes alleged excerpts from e-mails between Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney and Pavia, who represents dozens of fighters in several promotions. The exchanges show the pair exchanging copies of UFC documents like fighter contracts, Yahoo Sports reported. In one of the e-mails, Rebney allegedly states his intention was to rework the documents --which Zuffa considers containing confidential information about how their business is run -- so that it wouldn’t appear Bellator copied them.
The suit seeks damages and a court injunction preventing Bellator from using any Zuffa assets or intellectual property.
This legal headache is on top of a contractual dispute lawsuit the company has pending with heavyweight Dave Herman, who it was announced this week had signed a contract to fight on the Sept. 11 Shark Fights event in Texas.