The legal saga surrounding the UFC and its former fighters continues, with a new chapter unfolding in the Cirkunov v. Zuffa case. The spotlight is now on UFC President Dana White and legal department official Tracy Long, who are being summoned to court in early 2026 to testify. The court has set a crucial hearing for February 4th and 5th, 2026, where White and Long will be questioned about their phone data, which is at the center of a discovery dispute. The plaintiffs in Cirkunov v. Zuffa claim that White and Long have 'additional undisclosed devices' with information that was not turned over, raising concerns about potential evidence tampering.
This legal battle stems from a larger antitrust lawsuit, Le v. Zuffa, where the UFC was accused of using anti-competitive practices to suppress fighter wages. The settlement in 2025 provided $325 million to fighters from 2010 to 2017. However, the UFC is now facing two new antitrust lawsuits: Johnson / Dollaway v. Zuffa (covering 2017 to present) and Cirkunov v. Zuffa, which challenges the validity of class-action waivers in UFC contracts. The UFC argues that the Johnson / Dollaway lawsuit lacks standing due to anti-trust waivers signed by fighters, but the Cirkunov case alleges that these waivers are 'invalid and unenforceable'.
The fate of these lawsuits rests with Judge Richard F. Boulware, who also presided over the Le v. Zuffa case. Zach Arnold from The MMA Draw highlights the potential consequences if the UFC is found to have destroyed critical evidence. If evidence tampering is proven, Judge Boulware could rule that the UFC's arbitration clauses and class-action waivers are unenforceable, creating a scenario similar to Le v. Zuffa, where a large group of fighters has evidence of wage suppression by the promotion's monopolistic behavior. This legal drama continues to unfold, leaving the future of the UFC and its fighters in a state of uncertainty.
