Dana White found himself under oath this past February, testifying in a federal antitrust lawsuit brought by former UFC athletes. According to sources, what emerged from his two-and-a-half hours in Nevada Federal District Court wasn’t just details about missing phones and deleted messages. His testimony also revealed something that directly challenges a narrative he’d been pushing publicly about UFC fighter Josh Hokit.
Back in November, White appeared on The Jim Rome Show ahead of UFC 334 at Madison Square Garden. When discussing Hokit, White made his position clear.
He said, “I didn’t like some of the things he said. So I might have threw some tough guys at him and, and, and he passed every test.”
Talking about Hokit’s behavior, he said, “This guy comes in and, and, and literally starts attacking people for no reason and saying, you know, things that you don’t necessarily love. If you don’t like what Josh Hokit said on the white House lawn that night, guess what? In two weeks, you get to see him get punched in the face at Madison Square Garden live and free on Paramount Plus. That’s the beauty of the sport that we’re in.”
Those comments painted a picture of White as someone willing to exact consequences for a competitor’s public statements. The implication was unmistakable: step out of line with your words, and management might just book you against particularly dangerous opponents.
But White’s February court testimony told a different story about his actual role in matchmaking and contract negotiations. Under questioning from plaintiff attorney Michael Dell’Angelo, White repeatedly stated he no longer handles such matters personally.
“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 testified. He explained that he defers to Hunter Campbell, Mick Maynard, and Sean Shelby, redirecting competitors their way if they reach out. White said this arrangement has largely been in place since Campbell joined the matchmaking team around 2017.
The UFC president denied conducting any substantial business through messaging apps, despite evidence showing WhatsApp exchanges with competitor Jeremy Stephens. White maintained his days of negotiating contracts are behind him.
The contradiction is significant. On one hand, White publicly suggested he personally assigned difficult opponents to Hokit as a response to objectionable comments. On the other, he testified under penalty of perjury that he doesn’t involve himself in such decisions anymore, having delegated those responsibilities years ago.
The court proceedings themselves focused primarily on potential spoliation, with plaintiffs asserting the UFC submitted incomplete chat document production after years of litigation hold. White and UFC vice president Tracy Long faced repeated questions about their communications, the applications they used, who they corresponded with, and where missing messages went.
White described himself as not particularly tech savvy, uncertain about specific app functions, and reliant on assistants to handle phone upgrades and installations. He said if it weren’t for previous court orders requiring smartphone use, he’d still prefer a flip phone, which he plans to return to once the lawsuit concludes.
One iPhone 11 has gone missing entirely, White acknowledged. He said he typically gave old phones to Campbell for safekeeping but didn’t know where this particular device went. White theorized it was taken by a former UFC employee he described as “a runner” who was terminated for taking various items from the company.
Long also testified, denying direct involvement in negotiations but admitting to correspondence with managers and athletes as the person who prepares promotional agreements. She said she documented messages with screenshots stored both digitally and as hard copies.
When Judge Richard Boulware asked about missing text messages, Long denied deleting any and said she’d attempted recovery through Verizon but faced lengthy hold times.
