Is Dana White in legal trouble once again? That has been the ongoing talk in MMA circles as the UFC CEO attended a recent court hearing. Last year, the UFC had just settled the Le vs Zuffa case for $375 million. However, two more antitrust lawsuits have followed, with Johnson vs Zuffa and Cirkunov vs Zuffa still active, both questioning the promotion’s business practices. Now, regarding one of those cases, the head honcho has finally reached the court to provide some answers.

On Wednesday, UFC CEO Dana White and vice president of Athlete Compliance and Regulatory, Tracy Long, appeared in the Nevada Federal District Court. As part of the Cirkunov vs Zuffa case, the promotion’s top brass were summoned to testify after the plaintiffs raised concerns over missing data from White’s phone. Why? As per the filing, they mentioned “gaps in production” and “additional undisclosed devices,” clearly suggesting that certain information had not been fully disclosed. With those concerns in mind, the UFC boss addressed the court, and we have summarized the hearing for you. 

Is Dana White managing the fighters?  

As the head of the UFC, Dana White is often expected to be involved in every stage of the company. From negotiations to business deals, that assumption feels natural. And to be fair, that perception was not entirely wrong until the 56-year-old revealed something unexpected.  

According to an article by MMA Junkie, plaintiff Michael Dell’Angelo questioned the UFC CEO about whether he had conducted business with fighters through messaging apps. White did not deny it. Instead, he admitted to negotiating with Jeremy Stephens on WhatsApp. But was it a full-fledged deal or just preliminary talks? That part remains unclear. After White mentioned Lil Heathen’s name, another respected journalist, John S. Nash, who has worked with Bloody Elbow and many other organizations, revealed that a few other fighters were also named during the hearing. 

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“Namely there’s a Conor McGregor, uh, I think it’s a WhatsApp, or I think Instagram communication that Conor McGregor made public that showed there’s some communications. They also had a message from Jeremy Stevens and Dana White said, these are just, you know, a few handful of cases, Tony Ferguson’s another, but the more you hit on a handful,” Nash said in a voice recording on the Hey Not The Face podcast. 

Nash’s mention of White communicating with Conor McGregor on Instagram lines up with ‘The Notorious’ previously sharing screenshots of early messages about a potential UFC White House card. Still, there is one clear concern. While they did exchange messages, it remains unclear whether those talks amounted to formal negotiations. What raised more eyebrows, though, was what followed. White went on to claim that since 2017, he has not handled fighter deals at all.

“You won’t find one manager on this planet who will tell you I’ve negotiated a deal in I don’t know how long,” White said, while repeatedly denying that he conducts business over instant messaging or social media platforms. He added that Sean Shelby, Mick Maynard, and other senior executives have handled contracts since 2017, with White only stepping in when asked by his team.  As surprising as that revelation may be, the veteran journalist explained that a contrary claim, Nash believes that it could seriously damage White’s credibility.

“And so the thing I’m saying is in some ways, Dana White has put himself in a corner because if there is no material out there, then he’s fine. But if there is negotiations between him and a fighter and him and a manager from, you know, too early from 2017 until now, when he says he no longer did this, well, that kind of shows that demonstrates that Dana White is not being honest here, that he does in fact negotiate, and which can be detrimental to the UFC, the fact that they can’t supply the rest of the messages,” Nash added in a Hey Not The Face podcast voice recording. 

While it is still unclear whether Dana White negotiated with fighters during that period, a revelation that could significantly shift the narrative, the UFC boss also dropped another bombshell. According to White, the missing data may be linked to a possible theft involving a relative of a prominent TKO personality. 

Dana White alleges TKO head’s relative stole his phone 

What could add more twists to this story than an alleged theft becoming a key part of the legal drama? For the record, the UFC CEO acknowledged using multiple devices during the lawsuits and said he handed his old phone to Hunter Campbell for safekeeping. White did not claim that the missing phone contained the specific data the plaintiffs were seeking.

However, he went on to reveal that he had fired a former employee he referred to as “a runner” for stealing various valuable items from the company, including a baseball championship ring, later confirming that the individual was a relative of TKO CEO Ari Emanuel, with whom he apparently has a very good business relationship. 

With more questions than answers, Dana White wrapped up his testimony. Following his hearing, UFC legal department official Tracy Long also appeared at the hearing, clarifying details around fighter negotiations and revealing a surprising detail involving Ilia Topuria. 

UFC compliance vice president reveals trouble with Ilia Topuria 

Tracy Long, the UFC’s vice president of Athlete Compliance and Regulatory Affairs, oversees fighter contracts and related regulations. While answering questions in court, she revealed that there had been frustration involving lightweight champion Ilia Topuria’s management, First Round Management, which MMA Junkie described as issues related to “tardy paperwork.”

Well, it’s true that the court did not hear specific details about the exact problems tied to ‘El Matador’s management. But, there is some history of friction between First Round Management and UFC fighters. Three years ago, former BMF champion Jorge Masvidal was on a collision course with the Kawa brothers’ management team, Malki and Ibrahim Kawa, over compensation-related disputes.

Although ‘Gamebred’ stated there was no ill will, he once warned sponsors and merchants not to be misled into sending work requests to the management group, choosing instead to handle his business independently. Adding to their list of managed fighters, Jon Jones was another high-profile fighter who parted ways with the company back in 2021.

Turning back to the legal hearing, Tracy Long also addressed the situation surrounding Adam Vakhitov’s signing. Because of contractual problems, the veteran kickboxer ultimately did not join the UFC. Regarding text messages, Long stated that she had retained numerous screenshots tied to relevant discussions and firmly denied deleting any messages. She added that, if necessary, the data could be recovered through Verizon’s network.

That concluded the testimony from Dana White and Tracy Long at the Nevada Federal District Court. Next in line, UFC executives Mick Maynard and Hunter Campbell are scheduled to testify tomorrow. Until then, what are your thoughts on the hearing and the details revealed so far? Let us know in the comments section below.