Brendan Schaub, the former UFC heavyweight turned podcaster and comedian, has been connected to four notable legal matters: a copyright infringement lawsuit his production company filed and lost against a YouTube reactor, a fraud lawsuit brought against him by the founder of Pure Spectrum CBD, an unpaid podcast advertising revenue dispute involving Kast Media, and the UFC antitrust class action settlement he qualified for as a former fighter.
Copyright Suit Against Kyle Swindelles
In 2022, Schaub’s production company, Thiccc Boy Productions Inc., sued YouTube creator Kyle Swindelles in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island. Swindelles had been posting reaction videos that used segments of Schaub’s podcast The Fighter and the Kid. Thiccc Boy first sent copyright takedown notices to YouTube; Swindelles filed counternotices, and the company took the fight to federal court.1Eric Goldman Blog. Reaction Videos Are Fair Use — Thiccc Boy v. Swindelles
Schaub’s side lost. On February 22, 2024, U.S. District Judge Mary S. McElroy ruled that the reaction videos were fair use, finding that three of the four statutory factors favored Swindelles. She described Schaub’s podcast content as “more factual than creative,” likened it to television talk show clips, and concluded that the reactions were unlikely to substitute for the originals in the market.2Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly. Posting of Copyrighted Videos Deemed Fair Use The only factor that cut in Thiccc Boy’s favor was the amount of material used, because Swindelles duplicated full frames and included some segments without adding commentary.1Eric Goldman Blog. Reaction Videos Are Fair Use — Thiccc Boy v. Swindelles
Swindelles asked the court for Rule 11 sanctions, pointing to public comments in which Schaub said he had “spent half a million dollars on monster lawyers” and intended to “go after” online critics. The judge called those statements “troublesome” but declined to impose sanctions.1Eric Goldman Blog. Reaction Videos Are Fair Use — Thiccc Boy v. Swindelles
Thiccc Boy Productions appealed. The notice of appeal was filed on March 1, 2024, and the case is now before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit as case number 24-1207.3PACER Monitor. Thiccc Boy Productions Inc v. Swindelles
Bell v. Schaub: The Pure Spectrum CBD Fraud Case
Brady Bell, who says he founded Pure Spectrum CBD, LLC, has been suing Schaub and other people connected to the company since 2021. The original case was filed in Jefferson County, Colorado, in September 2021, naming Schaub alongside Gregory Graf, Pavel Cherkashin, Daniel Huerter, Brock Wood, and the company itself. Bell’s Colorado complaint alleged oppression, civil theft, conspiracy, and breaches of fiduciary duty.4Trellis Law. Bell, Brady v. Graf, Gregory et al.
A separate action, Bell v. Schaub, was filed on June 23, 2025, in the Florida Circuit Court for Palm Beach County, naming Schaub, Pure Spectrum CBD LLC, Justin Burgess, Brock Wood, and Daniel Blake Huerter as defendants.5Docket Alarm. Bell, Brady L v. Schaub, Brendan The central claim is that Schaub gave up his equity in Pure Spectrum around March 2021 after failing to meet the terms of his agreement, but that a February 2023 transaction purporting to sell Schaub $100,000 worth of equity went forward anyway. An affidavit in the case alleges the company approved that deal despite internal knowledge that Schaub no longer held a valid ownership stake, and accuses Huerter, Wood, Burgess, and attorney Peter Moore of misrepresenting corporate records to push Bell out and restructure the company.6Docket Alarm. Bell, Brady L v. Schaub, Brendan – Document 30
The Florida case is still open. As of early 2026, it sits in the discovery phase before Judge Carolyn Bell, with the plaintiff representing himself and hearings on discovery disputes held in January 2026.5Docket Alarm. Bell, Brady L v. Schaub, Brendan
Kast Media Unpaid Ad Revenue
Schaub’s podcast business got caught up in a larger collapse at Kast Media, the ad-sales and distribution network founded by Colin Thomson. By February 2023, Kast had stopped paying its creators on schedule. The company owed Schaub roughly $1.6 million in outstanding advertising revenue.7Billboard. PodcastOne Paid Brendan Schaub, but Other Kast Creators Were Stiffed
Schaub was paid in full. In August 2023, LiveOne, the parent company of PodcastOne, borrowed $1.7 million from CapChase, a Madrid-based online bank, specifically to cover what he was owed. That September, Schaub and his co-host Bryan Callen announced they were leaving Kast Media for PodcastOne.7Billboard. PodcastOne Paid Brendan Schaub, but Other Kast Creators Were Stiffed
Most Kast creators did not get the same treatment. Theo Von alleged Thomson had failed to pay $4 million in collected ad fees; Whitney Cummings said she was owed at least $350,000; Jim Cornette, Jason Ellis, Tony Hawk, and Logan Paul also left the network.8The Verge. Podcast Kast Media, Colin Thomson, Whitney Cummings, Theo Von9Billboard. PodcastOne IPO, Theo Von, Kast Media In January 2025, Cornette and his company Arcadian Vanguard sued Thomson, PodcastOne, and LiveOne in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleging Thomson factored ad receivables through outside financers and kept the 80 percent share contractually owed to creators. The complaint alleges PodcastOne CEO Rob Ellin discovered a roughly $6.9 million misappropriation and, rather than disclosing it, worked with Thomson to strip Kast’s assets while pressuring creators into new contracts with reduced ad-revenue splits. The complaint specifically notes that the structured transactions were designed to satisfy select creditors like Schaub while leaving others empty-handed. Kast Media has since filed for bankruptcy with $11.3 million in liabilities against $1.7 million in assets.10Slam Wrestling. Cornette, Last Suing for Ad Revenue11PW Insider. Cornette Sues Schaub is not named as a party in the Cornette case.
UFC Antitrust Class Settlement
Schaub competed in the UFC from 2009 to 2014, finishing with a professional MMA record of 10-5 as a heavyweight.12Sherdog. Brendan Schaub Fighter Profile That timeline placed him inside the class in Le v. Zuffa, the antitrust case alleging the UFC suppressed fighter pay through anticompetitive practices.
U.S. District Judge Richard Boulware granted final approval of the $375 million settlement on February 6, 2025. The class covers roughly 1,100 fighters who competed in UFC bouts between December 2010 and June 2017. After fees and costs, about $251 million was set aside for distribution, with individual payouts calculated from bout counts and compensation during the eligible period. Around 35 fighters were expected to receive more than $1 million, and most class members were projected to receive between $50,000 and $250,000.13Courthouse News Service. Judge Grants Final Approval of $375 Million UFC Antitrust Settlement The amount Schaub received has not been publicly disclosed.
By mid-2026, more than $237 million had been distributed to 984 claimants across 44 countries, covering more than 90 percent of eligible athletes. The remaining claims are held up by estate disputes, competing legal claims, and U.S. sanctions affecting fighters in certain countries. A separate antitrust case, Johnson v. Zuffa, covers fighters who competed from 2017 onward and is still working through the courts.14MMA Fighting. UFC Antitrust Lawsuit Payments Totalling Over $237 Million Paid to Fighters