The UFC have made their stance on online piracy very clear over the past few years; they are going to do everything that they can to pursue those who pirate and make publicly available their programming, even if most of the world has moved on from pissing money away trying to sue people for online filesharing and streaming. Their latest endeavor into the world of the internet is to sue a New Yorker, Steven Messina, for $32 million. Yes, you read that correctly; the UFC is suing a fan for $32 million for illegally distributing UFC events on the internet.
Why this fan and why this much money? He got cocky. He went by the name “Secludedly” online where he would rip and distribute UFC PPV events via BitTorrent sites, which is not unique, but then he asked for donations via PayPal to continue doing what he did. If you wonder how he was caught, I’d say look no further than a paper trail that a PayPal account would leave, as PayPal usually needs to be linked to a bank account or credit card, while linked to an email address.
Why $32 million? According to MMAJunkie, it breaks down like this;
Zuffa is asking for up to $150,000 for each act of infringement; up to $110,000 for each illegal use of UFC content; up to $60,000 for intercepting UFC content; and lawyer’s fees.
While we here at MMANuts would never publicly condone stealing, this is very clearly a case where hubris got the better of Messina and we end up here, at $32 million, which he clearly does not have. [source]