Hunter Campbell Answers the Question: So What Does Dana White Do?
It was a long day for the UFC CBO in Federal Court
We’ve got full coverage of today’s evidence spoliation hearing in the Federal UFC antitrust civil suit, including comprehensive notes on today’s testimony by Hunter Campbell, Eric Yee, and Elliott Howard for paid subscribers. But first, Nate and Zach have got some commentary on the action.
Three more Zuffa/UFC employees testified today in federal district court regarding the alleged spoliation of evidence in the multiple antitrust class action suits faced by the company.
Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell, Social Media Director Eric Yee, and Videographer Elliott Howard all testified before Judge Richard Boulware.
Their testimony followed that given yesterday by UFC CEO Dana White and Vice President Tracy Long.
For those just tuning in, these are the cases:
Johnson v. Zuffa (dba UFC) was originally filed in 2021 on behalf of fighters who fought from July 1, 2017 – present
Cirkunovs v. Zuffa (dba UFC) was filed on May 23, 2025 on behalf of fighters, who fought from July 1, 2017 – present, but who purportedly signed a contract that included an arbitration waiver.
Both cases are sort of sequels to Le vs Zuffa, which TKO had to settle for $375 million in 2024, and which covered fighters who fought in 2016 and earlier.
Both current cases present the possibility of another nine-figure settlement, but also present the possibility of “injunctive relief”, i.e., TKO might be forced to modify its business practices.
Yee and Howard were grilled about their role in assisting Dana White install and use social media apps like Instagram on his phones.
I’ll let Zach address their testimony in a bit, but first, I want to make a couple of points about Hunter Campbell’s testimony.
Hunter Explains What It Is Dana White Does Exactly
Yesterday, Dana White attempted to make it clear that he has little to no involvement in negotiating with fighters or structuring the contracts for the promotion.
Apparently, that was begging the question, ‘what exactly does Dana White do then?’ because Zuffa counsel went out of their way to ask Hunter Campbell to clarify.
Campbell responded, “Growth and strategy. Things like UFC Noche at the Sphere. UFC White House. The UFC in Azerbaijan.”
Campbell elaborated with “(Dana) is also completely obsessed with production and how the product looks and spends a great deal of time with the production crew.”
“I run the fight business, and he runs the entire company," Campbell continued.
In a follow-up, Campbell elaborated that “(Dana) is completely obsessed with his reality shows (The Ultimate Fighter, Lookin’ For a Fight, Dana White’s Contender Series).”
This all gibed with a statement White made in 2023:
Dana White: “The only shit that I really focus on, on a day-to-day basis, is finding new talent, building new talent, the live television, you know, in-house show, and the live television production. If we don't fuck that up, you can't fuck this thing up. It's the key to the entire business.”
The only other thing I’d like to add before handing it over to Zach for some legal analysis is Robert Joyner’s allegation that Hunter Campbell made his bones with the company by his handling of the extortion/blackmail case that Dana White found himself embroiled in right before the Fertitta Brothers sold the company to Ari Emanuel.
Here are Zach Arnold’s four big takeaways from Day 2 of the evidence spoliation hearing in Judge Boulware’s courtroom.
Intent to Deprive
Learn Rule 37(e) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. It’s at the heart of Judge Boulware’s evidence spoliation hearings.
Will UFC get hit with minor or major sanctions? A key determination for this outcome will be based on not just gross negligence but also on whether there was an intentional pattern of behavior to establish corruption of data retention practices.
Minor sanctions could include fines. Major sanctions could include adverse jury instructions or, in an extreme case, default judgment.
It is becoming clear that the legal strategy for UFC is to create reasonable doubt about intentional destruction of evidence. The problem with mounting such a defense is that Judge Boulware is creating a courtroom record of UFC admitting to such sloppy negligence on so many fronts that the amalgamation of circumstantial evidence can only produce one natural conclusion: systemic corruption.
By focusing on multiple lower-level UFC employees — with close proximity to UFC management — stating on-the-record that they didn’t know about or follow any sort of data retention policy other than whatever common sense or verbal guidance they may or may not have received, it demonstrates a lack of institutional control or at least the perception of it.
Hunter Campbell was UFC’s Chief Legal Officer. He’s now the man making key business decisions. There’s a higher standard expected from someone like him, especially given his legal background and his father’s legal background in the state of Nevada.
As further evidence and witness testimony is produced over the next couple of months, we will find out if UFC has been such a sloppy shop that they planted the seeds of their own demise. They likely will end up being their own worst enemy.
What Zuffa data retention policy?
This was a key highlight in the two days of witness testimony in Judge Boulware’s court.
Lower-level employees vaguely understood what a preservation letter or litigation hold meant, but there wasn’t on-the-job instruction or training on what to do. Just don’t delete anything, OK? That’s about it.
In the larger context, we are talking about a multi-billion-dollar corporation with multiple monopolies generating insane amounts of wealth on a global scale (as Hunter Campbell was fixated on during his testimony). And yet we are supposed to believe that the office is run like a Mom-and-Pop shop with little or no oversight.
The same company (TKO) with a massive army of lobbyists in Washington DC? The same company with direct access to The White House? The same company with masterminds like Lawrence Epstein and Nick Khan, ready to get Congress to pass the Ali Revival Act?
These are the guys who don’t know how to store and retain text messages or old phones? These are the guys who don’t know how to manage iCloud or basic social media apps?
It strains credulity to believe that a corporation with so many different attorneys, both in-house and external (e.g. Latham & Watkins), wouldn’t follow standard policy & procedures, especially given that they are publicly traded.
What will Colby Williams’ role be moving forward?
Which brings us to the billion-dollar question, legally for TKO moving forward in Judge Boulware’s courtroom.
Colby Williams, law partner to Hunter Campbell’s father, Don, is considered the most trusted attorney in UFC (outside of Lawrence Epstein). The man providing legal guidance both personally and professionally to UFC management. He is at the heart of this evidence spoliation hearing.
At what point does Colby Williams end up shifting from UFC legal counsel to becoming a fact witness?
Should Judge Boulware make a determination that Colby Williams is a witness, it would have significant ramifications regarding UFC’s legal defense. Mr. Williams was leading the defense counsel in Judge Boulware’s courtroom these last two days. He’s their best attorney.
Chris Yates of Latham & Watkins is good, but Colby Williams has deep knowledge of Nevada courtrooms. He has mastery of subject matter involving the issues in this UFC antitrust case. Having him sidelined would be devastating for TKO, yet, the grounds to establish a possible shift in responsibility were laid bare by UFC’s own front office with their on-the-record witness testimony about Mr. Williams’ role in the guidance of data retention policy and implementation.
Will Ari Emanuel be called into Judge Boulware’s court?
A key prong to UFC’s defense of creating reasonable doubt and establishing a lack of intent behind missing evidence or evidence destruction is to put their eggs in the basket of a story. A rather curiously bizarre story that nobody ever heard about until this week.
Ari Emanuel had a relative — unnamed, mind you — who apparently was stealing things from UFC’s front office. Dana White said a Little League ring was stolen. Hunter Campbell said a phone from an executive of a sponsor had been stolen.
Judge Boulware is obviously going to be interested in finding out more about this story. Is there security camera footage of theft taking place? Were police contacted? Why wasn’t a police report filed? Who decided to fire the employee?
How did this relative of Ari Emanuel get access to UFC phones, given Dana White’s claims of biometric security protocols?
It sounds like a possible cover story, but Ari Emanuel has some explaining to do. Why are his family members working for TKO properties (e.g. his daughter Ashlee, who was Vince McMahon’s executive assistant)?
How far up the food chain do issues relating to evidence preservation go? Right now, the issues are contained within UFC circles in Judge Boulware’s courtroom. What happens if bigger fish like Mark Shapiro and Ari Emanuel face forensic exposure?
The Core Conflict
Judge Boulware expressed extreme frustration with the UFC’s handling of digital evidence, specifically the failure to preserve years of text messages from Dana White and Hunter Campbell. He described the UFC’s conduct as “sanctionable” and demanded an immediate accounting of the physical phones.
Key Witness Testimony
Eric Yee (UFC Social Media): Testified that he posted for Dana White but received no training on data retention or litigation holds. He confirmed he did not set up auto-delete features, but also did not back up data.
Elliott Howard (Videographer): Stated he set up Dana White’s iPhones but never transferred data from old phones to new ones because Dana refused to use iCloud (fearing hackers). Old phones were simply placed in a drawer.
Hunter Campbell (UFC CBO):
Evasive Answers: Frequently answered “I don’t recall” regarding legal notices and retention policies, annoying the Judge.
Dana’s Role: Claimed Dana White stepped back from business/contracts in 2017 to focus solely on “creative,” a claim the Judge found skeptical given Dana’s history.
The “Drawer” Defense: Admitted old phones were kept in a drawer in the office. He claimed they searched for a missing phone but couldn’t find it, suggesting it might have been stolen by a relative of Ari Emanuel (Endeavor CEO) who had access to the office.
Judge Boulware’s Reaction
Skepticism: He openly doubted the UFC’s narrative that they suddenly “couldn’t find” passwords or phones after years of litigation.
Orders: He ordered the UFC to photograph the “phone drawer” immediately and file an affidavit on how they are securing these devices.
Threats: He warned that the failure to preserve this data is serious and indicated a future hearing will determine sanctions.
Outcome
The hearing was adjourned until the following Wednesday. Judge Boulware demanded a clear timeline of phone custody and a plan to retrieve the missing data from the physical devices in the “drawer.”
