UFC: Web ‘pirate’ owes $32M for stealing live MMA events

This Staten Island tech geek had better bolt his parents’ front door.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship is suing Steven Messina, 27, accusing him of being one of the Internet’s most prolific piraters of their wildly popular Pay-Per-View events.
The mixed-martial-arts behemoth is seeking $32 million from Messina, who lives in Great Kills with his mom and dad, according to a Brooklyn federal lawsuit.
The UFC claims in its suit that Messina uploaded 141 UFC presentations to controversial file-sharing sites like Piratebay and provided a PayPal donation link to keep the illegal practice going.
While Messina thought he was operating anonymously from his parents’ home under the moniker “Secludedly,” UFC investigators tracked down his real name and location and avalanched him with the massive civil suit.
UFC officials took note of Messina after he became increasingly cocky about his growing online status and referred to himself as the “Provider of Best MMA & Boxing rips online!,” the suit states.
He asked viewers to “Help Me Cap PPV!” through his PayPal account, called “MMA Capping Fund!,” according to the court papers, which allege he was trying to become the king of PPV pirates online.
He and his cohorts “are intent on becoming the most well known pirates and infringers on the internet by making their mark on the major torrent websites available on the internet,” the suit states.
Messina did not return a call for comment.
Along with HBO Boxing and Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Entertainment, the UFC is one of the highest-grossing PPV attractions on television.