Dana White clearly didn’t get the memo that Eddie Hearn wants him nowhere near Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua. Instead of taking a step back, the UFC head honcho is leaning straight into the blockbuster, seemingly happy to have his fingerprints all over the biggest boxing fight in years.

Fury and Joshua have been circling each other for more than a decade, and somehow, after years of false starts and endless talk, the heavyweight showdown is finally happening. The two British stars will collide on December 11 at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, giving fans the fight they’ve been begging for years.

“There was a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff going on,” White told Sky Sports News. “You know, it’s a fight that people have been waiting for over ten years. So to finally have it done, I’m sure boxing fans are excited.”

But now comes the fun part: what exactly is Dana White doing in all of this? The official announcement from Turki Alalshikh’s The Ring made it pretty clear that the Zuffa boxing boss will be working alongside Alalshikh to promote the fight. And, well, that hasn’t exactly thrilled Eddie Hearn.

Anthony Joshua’s promoter has repeatedly argued that Dana White can’t be involved because of contractual terms on Joshua’s side. Hearn even went as far as claiming that the UFC head honcho wouldn’t show up at the upcoming press conference.

Dana White, though, doesn’t seem too bothered by any of it. In fact, he basically brushed off Eddie Hearn’s complaints when asked about the situation.

“Well, I think that the press release speaks for itself,” White said. “Eddie Hearn must spend 24 hours a day doing interviews. I mean, I’ve never seen a guy do more interviews in my life.”

Then came the part where Dana White made it pretty clear that he isn’t planning to let Eddie Hearn dictate his involvement. And not just that, he also pushed back on the idea that Hearn had somehow forced him out of the UK event by getting the fight staged in Cardiff.

“He thinks Netflix gives a s— what Eddie Hearn thinks?” White continued. “I’m not involved in the promotion of the fight? I’m sitting here promoting the fight right now. Who’s gonna stop me?

“What did I lose? What have I lost? I promise you I’ve lost nothing. I am not involved in either side of this thing. I’m involved on the Turki side.”

This isn’t exactly a new argument, either. Hearn and White have been going back and forth over the UFC boss’ involvement for months.

The Matchroom boss previously told iFL TV that White wouldn’t have anything to do with the promotion, even after Netflix announced White alongside Alalshikh.

“Dana White cannot be involved with this fight promotion. Netflix clearly didn’t get the memo,” Hearn said.

And he isn’t the only one who has questioned Dana White’s role. Frank Warren has also pushed back on the idea, pointing to Tyson Fury’s contract and claiming it prevents Zuffa from promoting the fight.

“He’s not [promoting Joshua vs Fury] because the contract with Tyson says that Zuffa will not be able to promote that fight,” Warren said.

But there’s one pretty obvious problem with that argument: the official announcement says something completely different. The Ring and Dana White were both named as the parties working with Turki Alalshikh to promote the blockbuster, putting the UFC boss right in the middle of the Fury-Joshua madness despite all the objections coming from Eddie Hearn and Warren.

And things could get a whole lot more interesting when everyone finally ends up in the same room. After all, Dana White, Hearn, and the rest of the big names are expected to come face-to-face at the scheduled press conference in London on September 30.

As for the contract that stops the UFC CEO, well, it seems like no contract with such a clause was signed in the very first place.

Tyson Fury says he removed the clause that could have kept Dana White away from the AJ fight

Tyson Fury has now thrown his own explanation into the Dana White mess, and according to the former heavyweight champion, there’s a pretty simple reason the UFC boss can be involved despite Eddie Hearn’s objections.

Fury claims his original contract actually had a clause preventing Dana White and TKO from being involved in the promotion. The difference? He says he had that clause removed before putting pen to paper.

Tyson Fury also explained that the Saudis negotiate separately with both fighters, meaning the contracts don’t necessarily have to look the same even though he and Anthony Joshua are fighting on the exact same card.

And, of course, ‘The Gypsy King’ couldn’t resist taking a little shot at Eddie Hearn while explaining the situation.

“So after all of Eddie Hearn’s bumsmacking and all the ‘We want it in England’ to get rid of Dana White, but I’m sure it just got announced by Ring that Ring and Dana White are promoting this fight,” Fury said in an interview with FurociTV. “How mad is that? I’m sure I’ve just seen a post from Ring to say Ring & Dana are promoting this fight.

“But in Joshua’s contract apparently it says that TKO and Dana couldn’t be involved, but that was in mine, but I took it out. I took it out because I want him involved. Two baldies together. I like Dana. A good businessman and a good guy.”

That explanation just adds another twist to an already messy situation. Eddie Hearn’s argument is that Joshua’s contract keeps Dana White out, while Tyson Fury is saying he had a similar restriction in his deal but chose to get rid of it before signing.

There’s also the possibility that the Zuffa boss’s involvement is tied specifically to Fury’s side, while The Ring works with Alalshikh on the broader promotion of the event. If that’s the case, it could explain why everyone seems to be reading the contracts very differently.

Either way, the legal and contractual back-and-forth is still happening behind the scenes. What we do know is that Fury vs. Joshua is finally locked in for Cardiff, and Dana White looks more than happy to stay right in the middle of the madness, whether Eddie Hearn likes it or not.