Herman, Bellator Locked in Legal Battle

Both Medley and Camp said they negotiated between themselves that Herman would be paid $4,000 to show with another $4,000 for a win. According to Medley, Shark Fights paid for Herman and a cornerman’s flight, hotel, food and $30 per diems for expenses. Medley said no negotiations or dialogue occurred between himself and Bellator regarding the bout at all.

“At no time did I speak with anyone from Bellator,” Medley told Sherdog.com.

Herman beat Frye in 60 seconds at Shark Fights 6 and returned to Bellator to receive his next assignment. With November fast approaching, Herman believed Bellator owed him one more fight before the one-year deadline.

On Nov. 2, 2009, Herman advised the promotion by e-mail and regular mail that it was in breach of his contract for not providing the second bout within the contracted year. On Nov. 7, Herman fought again for Japan’s Sengoku promotion, scoring a first-round knockout against Jim York.

Bellator attorney English said Herman blatantly breached his contract at this time by not allowing the promotion the 45-day cure period allotted to try and remedy the alleged breach. However, for the next 45 days, Herman’s camp said Bellator did not offer the fighter another bout.

On Dec. 18, Herman sent a second letter via e-mail and regular mail to Bellator, stating that the contract was terminated. In early January, Herman, Rebney and representatives for both sides participated in a teleconference call. Herman’s suit states that during the call, Rebney said former matchmaker Stansell had misled him about Bellator assigning the Shark Fights bout and apologized to everyone on the call for the confusion. The two parties then attempted to resolve the issue. Herman said this was the last time he spoke directly with the promoter.

“I told (Rebney) I’d still happily fight for him,” Herman said. “Single bouts, whatever. But I told him he wasn’t holding up his end of the bargain and he needed to do something.”

Herman also told Bellator that it would have to provide him with a new contract because the first one was now null and void. Herman said he was surprised to receive an e-mail from the promotion shortly afterward inviting him into the heavyweight tournament for $75,000 less than what the original contract promised.

“I thought it was a joke,” said Herman. “I wasn’t sure what they wanted to do with that. I just assumed that they didn’t want me to fight for them at the time and started to seek employment elsewhere.”

In March, Herman filed a suit against the Chicago-based promotion, claiming breach of contract and that Bellator’s legal counsel interfered with his attempts to obtain fights elsewhere.

According to Herman’s claim, he was offered a contract with Shine Fights to face Jeff Monson in a mid-April bout, but the Florida-based promotion withdrew its written offer after it received a letter from Bellator’s attorneys threatening immediate litigation over the fighter’s alleged exclusivity. A copy of the letter was provided with the lawsuit.

Herman’s suit also claims that Bellator’s legal counsel interfered with another one-fight offer from United Mixed Martial Arts Extreme Xcitement for March, as well as a four-fight deal with Strikeforce.

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker would not comment on the matter nor confirm that the promotion had made Herman an official offer.

“Every time I would try and get a fight anywhere in the U.S., they would threaten to sue the promotion to keep me from working,” said Herman. “They were claiming I was under an exclusive contract.”

In March, Herman filed for injunctive relief asking that Bellator be bound from interfering with his prospective bouts, but a New Jersey judge denied the request.

In its responses to Herman’s suit, Bellator states that it satisfied the second bout before 2009 by granting the fighter permission to take the Shark Fights bout against Frye.

“(Herman’s camp) did approach Bellator with the Shark Fight bout, and Bellator knew at the time that it owed Herman a fight,” English told Sherdog.com on Tuesday. “Bellator had the right to assign out bouts, checked out the opponent (Frye) and was very comfortable with the match, so it assigned it to Shark Fights. Bellator met the contractual requirements.”

Herman’s representation argues that other than giving the requisite permission, Bellator had nothing to do with the Shark Fights bout. To illustrate, former manager Camp said that Herman settled on a purse $6,000 shy of what his Bellator contract would have paid out for the second bout.

“As you know, it’s not all about the finances,” said Camp. “Don Frye was a big name, so we settled on four and four (thousand).”

English said Bellator was not made aware that Herman was taking less money for the Frye bout than what his Bellator contract stipulated.

“We have yet to establish what he really got (paid),” said English. “Obviously, if we had known about it, Bellator would have met its financial obligations.”

English pointed out that there is a provision in Herman’s contract where the promotion would have 14 days to remedy a money dispute, but that Herman’s camp never alerted Bellator of the discrepancy.

Herman said he didn’t contact Bellator about the smaller purse because there was never any doubt in his mind that the bout was being considered a part of his Bellator contract.

Shark Fights matchmaker Medley said it’s also his belief that, in Texas, both promotions’ names would have had to have appeared on the bout agreement if this had been an assigned fight between promotions. Medley said Bellator’s name did not appear on Herman’s bout agreement.

The case is tentatively set to go to trial in January 2011.

In May, Herman fought Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou and lost by disqualification at the Abu Dhabi Fighting Championships in the Middle East. He said Bellator’s continued interference prevents him from getting more fights stateside, though, and that the former boxing promoter is operating out of spite.

“I saw some articles. I think one of them was titled, ‘Bjorn Rebney makes Don King look like a choir boy,’” said Herman. “Basically, everything I found (online) led me to believe that every time he has an issue, he likes to take it all the way through court just for the hell of it.”

English said the promotion is more than willing to honor Herman’s contract, and up until last Friday, offered the fighter a slot in its heavyweight tournament starting on Aug. 12. Herman confirmed that he turned down the offer because he was also asked to drop the lawsuit as a stipulation of his acceptance.

On Monday, Bellator offered Herman a single bout that English said would have “no baring” on the legal proceedings or require Herman to waive anything. Herman, who said he’s continued to train in anticipation of any fight, was skeptical of the offer, but was willing to hear the details.

“I’m ready to go now, but the best offer they’ve given me is to go back to the original offer,” said Herman. “I have attorney’s fees and they’d have to at least pick those up. I’m willing to talk and I’ve made that clear to them. I’d be happy to fight for them, but they have to make things right.”

Herman estimates he’s already spent $30,000-$50,000 out of pocket on legal fees and that other promotions are afraid to make him offers for fear of litigation from Bellator. Shark Fights’ Medley said he expressed interest in booking Herman in an undercard bout at Shark Fights 13 on Sept. 11 in Amarillo, Texas, but felt he couldn’t make an offer because of Herman’s current legal situation.

At the moment, the 25-year-old heavyweight prospect trains and waits.

“At this point, I want to get the word out that I’m seeking fights,” said Herman. “I’m looking for fights from anybody, from any promotions that will have me.”