Judge dismisses convicted extortionist's lawsuit against UFC president Dana White

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — A lawsuit filed by Ernesto Joshua Ramos against UFC president Dana White was dismissed by Judge David Jones on Wednesday.

The lawsuit demanded payment from White, claiming the MMA organization's president failed to uphold an agreement that would keep White's name secret after Ramos pleaded guilty to extortion charges.

Judge Jones's ruling comes almost five years after Ramos's guilty plea. He reportedly demanded UFC President Dana White for $200,000 so as to not release footage of White having sex with Ramos' girlfriend in Brazil.

At the time of Ramos' conviction, White's name was never released, and Ramos' lawyer tried to use this silence to get Ramos' sentence reduced to probation, stating that the victim would be further victimized if the facts became known.

The gambit didn't work. Ramos was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison.

The lawsuit, filed in April of 2020, claimed that the story is not as straightforward as it seems. There's no evidence that Ramos asked for money, the complaint said, until White arranged an in-person meeting, allowing the FBI to record everything.

"At the first meeting White insisted that Ramos provide a figure for all copies of the recording," the complaint said. "Ramos and White negotiated for a payment of $200,000 to be delivered the next day."

Ramos received the payment. Soon after, he was arrested and charged.

The only reason Ramos pleaded guilty, the lawsuit claimed, was that White implied he would pay Ramos a "substantial settlement" if he entered a guilty plea and then signed a nondisclosure agreement. After the guilty plea, the lawsuit alleged, no payment was agreed to during mediation.

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The complaint stated that "White and the UFC did not engage in fair dealing by their actions," and that "the failure to offer any payment to Ramos in April 2016 was in bad faith and an abuse of his financial ability compared with Ramos."

The motion to dismiss, filed by White's legal counsel in August of 2020, claimed that the lawsuit "seeks this Court’s assistance to complete what he could not finish the first time—separating Mr. White (and, now, his employer) from a 'substantial' amount of money."

The motion points to the lawsuit's claim that no sum of money was agreed upon before, during, or after the alleged mediation, meaning that neither party entered into an enforceable contract. Since there's no contract, the motion argues, there are no grounds for a lawsuit.

"At best, Ramos has alleged the parties had an agreement to agree—i.e., the parties agreed to attend a mediation at which they would try to reach agreement on the price for and terms of a nondisclosure agreement," the motion stated. "Unfortunately for Ramos, such agreements are likewise unenforceable in Nevada."

It's an argument that Judge Jones accepted, granting the motion to dismiss on Wednesday morning.

The law offices of Campbell & Williams, who represented White and the UFC, declined to comment about Wednesday's ruling.

News 3 reached out to Ramos' attorney but has not heard back.