A judge has issued a stern warning, stating that missing cell phones and records could result in 'sanctionable offenses' in the ongoing UFC antitrust case. This case, led by UFC executives Dana White and Hunter Campbell, is currently in Nevada court, where they are being questioned about the lack of disclosure materials provided for a series of antitrust lawsuits filed by fighters. Similar to the Le vs. Zuffa case, which resulted in a $375 million settlement for fighters from 2012 to 2017, Johnson v. Zuffa accuses the UFC of using monopsony power to suppress fighter wages from 2017 onwards. Additionally, Cirkunov v. Zuffa argues that UFC fighters who signed class action arbitration clauses should still be able to participate in Johnson v. Zuffa, while Davis v. Zuffa represents fighters outside the UFC who claim they were harmed by the UFC's anti-competitive behavior. All these cases are being handled together by Judge Richard Boulware, who also oversaw the settlement of Le vs. Zuffa. According to fighter lawyers, years of communications from White, Campbell, and UFC lawyer Tracy Long were missing from discovery documents, leading to a spoliation hearing last week. If the UFC fails to retrieve this data, they could face severe legal consequences from Judge Boulware. The spoliation hearing, held on February 11th and 12th, 2026, did not involve much courtroom drama, but rather a back-and-forth discussion about the work related to fighter contracts, communication between employees, and the fate of old phones. The hearing aimed to determine why five years of communications from White and Long were not provided to fighter lawyers. A phone from Campbell, which was never scanned, was also alleged to have been used to send over 3000 messages to UFC matchmakers. The testimony revealed the UFC's poor handling of their legal responsibility to maintain and disclose records to the court. Legal expert John Nash attended the hearing and discussed the potential outcomes on his Substack podcast. Nash predicts that the judge will likely impose some form of sanction on the plaintiffs, but the extent of the punishment remains uncertain. The UFC claims that Dana White is no longer involved in fighter negotiations, but Judge Boulware's questioning suggests he is skeptical of this argument. Nash highlights the potential impact of missing material on the case, emphasizing its relevance to the UFC's business workings. He suggests that the judge may have to make a decision regarding arbitration agreements and class action waivers, potentially favoring the plaintiffs due to the missing evidence. The more fighters represented by the class, the more money is at stake in this antitrust case. The potential settlement for Johnson v. Zuffa fighters could be significantly larger than the Le v. Zuffa settlement. The adverse inference due to discovery violations could also haunt the UFC during the trial. Nash notes that the judge could instruct the jury to interpret the missing material as most adverse to the UFC and most beneficial to the fighters. Judge Boulware has given the UFC lawyers an additional 30 days to resolve the issue of missing cell phones and records, but it appears that the missing years of Dana White's communications will not be recovered. The judge's reaction to this remains unknown, but his dissatisfaction with the UFC's poor record-keeping is evident. The legal fallout from his ruling could be significant, potentially leading to another multi-million dollar settlement with UFC fighters.
