UFC
Rampage Jackson terminating Bellator deal may stand, but matching rights clause could still keep him from UFC 186
Mar 16, 2015 - 8:30:16 PM Rampage Jackson terminating Bellator deal may stand, but matching rights clause could still keep him from UFC 186

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Though it appears Rampage Jackson was well within his rights to terminate his contract with Bellator MMA, a subsequent clause in the deal may yet keep him out of UFC 186 next month.

Via a report from MMAJunkie.com, featuring commentary from Erik Magraken of CombatSportsLaw.com, Bellator made one fairly vital mistake in their handling of Jackson. The organization was obliged to give Jackson a "summary report" of the pay-per-view buys garnered in their only pay-per-view last May, and though they gave a verbal number to Jackson's representatives, no "summary report" was ever issued.

The wording of Jackson's contract was such that he needed only a "good faith" belief that Bellator had violated some term of the deal to initiate a 45-day "cure period" in which they could address his concerns. They did not provide that summary report, so it's likely his finding them in breach to terminate the deal will hold up. However, the following clause could cause some issues:

If this agreement is terminated for any reason, FIGHTER is thereafter permitted to negotiate with other promotional entities.

i) For a period of twelve (12) months following the termination of this Agreement, however, PROMOTER shall retain the exclusive right to match the material terms of any agreement offered to FIGHTER by any other promotional activity.

What that means is that while Jackson's UFC deal may yet hold up, Bellator would still have the opportunity to match that offer, and thus a court may grant an injunction to give Bellator a chance to match said offer.

Jackson continues to move ahead as if he's fighting on April 25, but this may be more complicated than he and his camp would like to believe.

Penick's Analysis: It certainly seems, based on some unfortunately lax wording on Bellator's part, that Jackson was within his rights to terminate the deal. However, the matching clause could be a sticking point that bites him in the ass. Hopefully we get some resolution one way or the other early next month, because whether he fights or has to wait until a later date, everyone's going to want to have some confirmation before fight week.