Borg sued for allegedly using ‘trade secrets’
Former management team seeks part of fighter’s earnings
Albuquerque MMA fighter Ray Borg has been sued by his former management team, which alleges Borg failed to honor a contract he signed shortly before leaving the FIT-NHB gym for rival Jackson-Wink MMA.
The story first was reported by mmajunkie. com.
Wild Bunch Management LLC, the company headed by FIT-NHB owners and operators Tom Vaughn and Arlene Sanchez Vaughn, claims Borg violated a non-compete clause which would have prevented him from competing for Jackson-Wink.
The lawsuit, filed on Feb. 2 in state District Court, also accuses Borg of having improperly used “trade secrets” acquired at FIT-NHB while training and competing under the Jackson-Wink banner.
Wild Bunch claims Borg owes the company
20 percent of his earnings from his past four fights.
Jason Bowles, Borg’s attorney, told mmajunkie. com he considers the lawsuit without merit and said Borg did not break a contract in switching gyms.
It has been a difficult few weeks for Borg.
First, he was forced to withdraw from a scheduled April 7 UFC fight in Brooklyn, N.Y., after taking glass fragments in his left eye when UFC star Conor McGregor shattered a shuttle bus window with a hand cart.
That fight, against Mexico’s Brandon Moreno, was rescheduled for May 19 in Santiago, Chile. But Borg was unable to train because of his infant son Anthony’s medical condition and again was forced to withdraw.
Anthony Borg underwent two surgeries in Denver after being diagnosed as having hydrocephalus, an abnormal buildup of fluid in the brain.
Borg tweeted on Monday that Anthony was doing well.
Of the lawsuit, Borg tweeted on Thursday: “The guys (sic) timing of this really seems to be good considering what is going on. Bravo lol trade secrets.”
This is the second lawsuit filed against Borg by New Mexico Wild Bunch. The first was filed in December 2016 in Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court, shortly after Borg left FIT-NHB for Jackson-Wink. NICCO VS. ARIEL: FITNHB fighter Nicco Montaño is fighting mad at MMA journalist Ariel Helwani, and the UFC women’s flyweight champion isn’t holding back.
Helwani posted Monday on Twitter that the UFC, eager to stage a title fight between Montaño and Valentina Shevchenko, is “losing patience” with the Albuquerque-based champion.
Montaño responded with a furious Instagram post, explaining that she’d had surgery to remove tonsils and adenoids in the past few days and that the UFC is aware of her situation.
As for Helwani, Montaño called the veteran journalist and talk-show host “a huge waste of space” and “a poor excuse for a man.” Those, in fact, were two of her milder comments.
As of Thursday morning, Helwani had not responded.
The UFC, contacted on Wednesday by the Journal, declined comment.
Montaño became the inaugural UFC women’s flyweight champion by defeating Roxanne Modaferri last December in the title match of The Ultimate Fighter 26.