Nearly nine years after the lawsuit was initially filed against UFC, a federal judge granted certification of the antitrust case that covers more than 2,000 current and former fighters.

U.S. District Court Judge Richard Franklin Boulware II wrote in the 80-page order Wednesday that lawyers for the plaintiffs “established” allegations of anticompetitive conduct by the UFC — which artificially kept fighter pay low — sufficiently to allow the class-action case to proceed.

“We are extremely gratified that the court issued this opinion,” Eric L. Cramer, one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys, told Front Office Sports. “This is not the end of the fight.”