Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein will miss at least a month after sustaining a small, non-displaced fracture in his left hand during a preseason game in Denver.

The Thunder said Thursday that Hartenstein, who was hurt in Tuesday’s game, will be re-evaluated in five to six weeks.

The Thunder added the 7-foot, 250-pound Hartenstein as a free agent in the offseason to help them with rebounding and their lack of bulk, two of their few weaknesses last season as they earned the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. He averaged 8.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists last season for the New York Knicks.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

[Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.]

FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience

Advertisement

Isaiah Hartenstein

Oklahoma City Thunder

National Basketball Association

Get more from National Basketball Association Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

The latest chapter in the Gegard Mousasi saga has started to unfold, and it involves a $15 million lawsuit.

In a 65-page civil suit filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, Mousasi alleges breach of contract, among other claims, by Bellator after it was purchased by the PFL, and the PFL and “new Bellator” in general. Among the named defendants are PFL executives Peter Murray, Donn Davis, Ray Sefo, Mike Koran, Jim Bramson and George Pineda.

Mousasi is seeking a minimum of $15 million in damages (H/T MMA journalist John Nash). The 39-year-old Dutch former Bellator champion most recently fought in May 2023, and his struggles to get a fight after the PFL purchase Bellator, and therefore Mousasi’s contract, became widely discussed when they went public earlier this year.

Gegard Mousasi has filed a complaint against Bellator Sport Worldwide, LLC, New Bellator, LLC (a subsidiary of PFL),+ individuals alleging breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, unjust enrichment, a claim for relief for Monopsonization. pic.twitter.com/l8TbfAUqyB

— John S. Nash (@heynottheface) October 17, 2024

Advertisement

Exhibits in the lawsuit include copies of emails going back to January from Mousasi’s manager, Nima Sapafour, attempting to get clarification on what PFL’s intentions were with his client. After Mousasi went public with his frustrations with the company and threatened a lawsuit, the promotion annouced his release in April.

The suit gives insight into Mousasi’s contract with Bellator. Ahead of the sale to the PFL, Mousasi had a deal that was to pay him a flat $200,000 for his fight and a $50,000 bonus if he won with a finish – but also a guaranteed $600,000 “promotional fee” for each fight.

In communications between PFL/Bellator officials and Sapafour, Mousasi’s cost is brought up as an issue, despite his contractual status. And because Mousasi was unable to fight elsewhere, again contractually, the suit brings additional allegations.

The claims by Mousasi, including to court documents, are for “breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, unjust enrichment, a claim for relief for Monopsonization under Section 2 of the Sherman Act … and misclassification-related labor and employment claims.”

The suit is asking for no less than $15 million in “compensatory, consequential and/or equitable monetary damages” and requested a trial by jury.

Mousasi (49-9-2) in May called the promotion “the worst organization” and threatened legal action “in an interview. His release was announced soon after.

In May 2023, Mousasi lost to Fabian Edwards. It was his second straight setback. Mousasi fought in the UFC from April 2013 to April 2017 with a 9-3 record with the promotion, then went to Bellator as a free agent. He went 7-3 under the Bellator banner with two reigns as middleweight champion.

Paul Hughes was ready for this.

Despite only a single fight since joining the PFL in free agency, the 27-year-old Irish prospect didn’t blink when he got the call to face former Bellator champion A.J. McKee in the opening bout on the upcoming pay-per-view card on Saturday from Saudi Arabia. Of course jumping in the deep end against a vastly experienced opponent might seem like too much, too soon, especially considering McKee has more career finishes (14) than Hughes has total fights (13).

But Hughes says getting the chance to face competition like McKee now rather than later is exactly why he signed with the PFL in the first place.

“This is exactly what I called for whenever I came into the PFL,” Hughes told MMA Fighting. “I said I want the most entertaining fights, the hardest fights and I want to put on shows for the fans. That’s exactly what’s going on here. I think I did a pretty good job in my debut. It was a pretty good scrap. Fans were happy enough and this one is just another step up.

“Now I’m kind of in that position where I’ve got the opportunity to fight one of the best in the world and prove what I have been saying for the last year — I’m one of the best fighters on the planet.”

Hughes doesn’t doubt that he’ll set foot in the cage as a sizable underdog and he understands that narrative given McKee’s history as one of the top fighters in Bellator for the past few years.

McKee has only tasted defeat once in his career and that was a close decision against Patricio Pitbull — an opponent he vanquished in less than two minutes during their first encounter. Since moving to lightweight, McKee is undefeated with a perfect 4-0 record including a lightning quick submission win over perennial PFL contender Clay Collard back in February.

“You put our records up against each other, you look at the experience AJ has against some of the best in the world for many, many years, on paper, I’m a huge, huge underdog coming into this fight,” Hughes acknowledged. “But look there’s a reason for the last 12 months I’ve been saying I’m one of the best in the world right now. I’ve mixed it up with some of the best guys in the world in training. I know my skill level. I know my capabilities. I know I’m a born competitor. You put me in there against anybody, I will win. I rise to the occasion.

“The proof that I have throughout my career, the higher pressure the fight, the bigger the occasion, the better that I perform. That’s just not me saying that’s what’s going to happen. I have proof of that happening. I’ve been there and done it. I’ve fought five round world title fights. I’ve performed every single time. Now it’s just the next step up. It’s a bigger stage but for me that means a better performance on my behalf.”

Getting McKee in just his second fight with PFL also further justified Hughes’ decision to pass on an offer from the UFC when he hit free agency earlier this year.

He laid out a multitude of reasons why he chose the PFL but money and opportunity sit at the top of that list and both are paying off with this fight.

“I knew deep down when I made the decision it was the right call,” Hughes explained. “I knew it was going to pay off for me. I didn’t quite expect it to pay off so quickly, in terms of how big the fights are, how big the events are but also how life changing the money is. I’m getting a bonus on top of my usual contract for this fight. Yes, I deserve it, I’m fighting one of the most dangerous fighters on the planet on a huge card. But my life has completely changed in the last six months. It’s incredible.

“It would take many, many years [in the UFC] to be able to get to the position that I am monetarily with the PFL. I knew it was going to be the right decision. It’s just paid off how I thought it would.”

Following his debut win in PFL in June, Hughes actually planned on calling out Bellator lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov, but the undefeated Russian already had a fight booked at that point.

There’s nothing stopping Hughes from asking for that fight if he gets through McKee on Saturday, which is another reason why he was so excited to get this offer.

“This is exactly how I envisioned it,” Hughes said. “It’s actually playing out. Sometimes you aim for the stars and you end up on the moon. This one, I’ve ended up in the stars. Exactly what I asked for has happened. When I signed with the PFL, my expectations have been exceeded and it’s an unbelievable time.”