Hunter Campbell pulls back curtain during UFC antitrust testimony

Three more UFC employees testified in Nevada Federal District Court on Thursday, including chief business officer Hunter Campbell.

For the majority of a seven-plus-hour court session Thursday, Campbell sat on the stand under oath for testimony as he fielded questions from attorneys as well as Judge Richard Boulware, as part of an ongoing antitrust lawsuit filed against the promotion by former fighters.

As was the case with UFC CEO Dana White and legal executive Tracy Long during a session Wednesday, Campbell was drilled with inquiries pertaining to potential spoliation issues and the handling of cell phones during litigation hold.

Campbell testifies

Campbell quickly became a central figure of discussions during White and Long’s testimonies on Wednesday. He volunteered to testify on the spot, but Wednesday’s session ran out of time.

When he took the stand Thursday, Campbell was pressed about his handling of White’s phones, as well as his role in the company and what sort of communications he was having on his own devices.

Campbell maintained that he’d always acted as if he was on litigation hold, and also encouraged those around him to do the same, including fellow matchmaker Mick Maynard, who Campbell said had reservations about submitting cellular devices, as he viewed it as a privacy violation.

When one of White’s phones allegedly went missing, Campbell said he took the development extremely seriously, initiating a search throughout the office and in both his and White’s homes, with no luck. Campbell repeatedly expressed that he, and those around him, including White, Long, and Sean Shelby, among others, had cooperated with orders.

Boulware unhappy with defendants’ handling of phones

While other interesting rabbit holes of the UFC’s business came to light during Thursday’s hearing, including the revelation that the promotion recently pursued kickboxing great Rico Verhoeven, the central discussion point was that of gaps in the messages that were turned over to the court.

Between testimonies, Judge Boulware admonished the defendants for the elongated process of analyzing cell phones in their possession. He gave UFC attorneys 30 days to resolve the issues and warned that their handling could be sanctionable.

Plaintiff attorney Michael Dell’Angelo suggested Boulware have the defense hand over the phones to a third-party in the intermediate. Boulware said he’d consider it, but stuck with his proposed plan.

White’s relationship with UFC contracts

Wednesday, White told the court he never negotiates UFC fights or promotional agreements these days. Instead, he redirects inquiries from fighters to his matchmaking team, which is composed of Campbell, Mick Maynard, and Sean Shelby.

It’s been that way, according to Campbell, since he (Campbell) returned to the UFC in an elevated role in 2017. Campbell said his first week in that position, White had him negotiating UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic’s contract.

Campbell echoed White’s sentiments. When pressed by Boulware about White’s involvement in the UFC contract template, Campbell said White never looks at it or asks questions.

“Dana is a very unique individual,” Campbell said.

When asked what White does do, Campbell mentioned how White told him by the time he dies, he hopes the sport can be the biggest one in the world. Campbell painted White as obsessed with growth, strategy, and events like the Sphere and the White House cards, as well the production side of things.

He also pointed to White’s use of Dana White’s Contender Series in laying the foundation for the next generation of talent cultivation.

Boulware was skeptical of Campbell’s claims, questioning how the CEO of the company could never even look at athlete contracts, let alone compensation numbers.

Campbell acknowledged that it sounded crazy, but said White has long had unwavering trust in his matchmaking team and doesn’t question them when they say everything is under control and going well.

Occasionally, Campbell said, White will tell him to pay a losing fighter his win money or make sure a fighter is “taken care of” in some regard. Campbell referenced a recent instance where White was touched by one of the Tafas (either Junior or Justin), giving his sweatshirt to a young fan on the way to the cage.

LOAs

The UFC has long used Letter of Agreements (LOA) as part of its negotiations. LOAs, also called “side letters” by some in the industry, are separate agreements between a promotion and a fighter for a payment that is exempt from public record.

Numerous sources have told MMA Junkie over the years that LOAs are often used for bigger-name athletes or special cases, such as a fighter stepping into unusual circumstances.

Campbell pointed to recent title challenger Diego Lopes, as an example of why he says the UFC uses LOAs. He said Lopes splits time between Mexico and Brazil, and comes from a less fortunate neighborhood, meaning he could be threatened or shaken down for money.

“Violence is a very real and serious concern with these guys,” Campbell said. “… Everybody who’s suddenly your new best friend comes out of the woodwork.”

Two other employees testified

Prior to Campbell’s lengthy question-and-answer session, two other UFC employees took the stand. First was Eric Yee, a director of social media for the UFC, who also posts from the personal accounts of White. According to Yee, he’s the only other person to have access. Yee was asked about the different applications on White’s phone and what the split was of them each posting.

Then went Elliott Howard, White’s longtime photographer and assistant, who was responsible for acquiring and setting up new phones for White, as well as assisting Campbell with the relocation of old phones for safekeeping. He was questioned about this process.

What’s next?

Judge Boulware ordered the parties to reconvene in court this coming Wednesday to hash out a few more things, as they ran out of time Thursday to do so. Boulware also indicated “pretty strict, potentially challenging deadlines” are ahead and added he’d like to conclude the spoliation hearings by sometime in April.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Hunter Campbell pulls back curtain during UFC antitrust testimony

Hunter Campbell pulls back curtain during UFC antitrust testimony

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