The UFC’s nine-figure settlement in one antitrust lawsuit might just be the beginning of its legal setbacks, as a new problem could cause financial losses to Dana White & Co. While the UFC is breaking landmark deals in the front, there are still existing complications in the background. The source of this new headache isn’t a rival promotion or any fighter, but a manager’s delayed paperwork in a courtroom.

“First, Dominance is HEREBY ORDERED to produce all responsive materials which have already been collected by HOLO by April 3, 2026,” Judge Richard F. Boulware ordered on March 10. “If Dominance fails to provide the information by this time, it will be held in contempt and face monetary or other available sanctions.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Dominance must continue producing materials, in consultation with Plaintiffs, pursuant to this Courts prior order. See ECF No. 245. Second, Dominance is FURTHER ORDERED to disclose the models, phone numbers, and dates of usage of all personal and professional devices which belong(ed) to Dominance’s custodians, as identified by the Parties.”

Dominance MMA is the company run by Khabib Nurmagomedov’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz. He has been one of the long-standing individuals in the UFC community who has been involved in the contract negotiations of many fighters. The latest order is part of the developments of the Johnson vs. Zuffa antitrust lawsuit.

The long-running class-action lawsuit, initially filed by former fighters like Cung Le, alleges that the UFC used anti-competitive practices to monopolize the market for elite MMA fighters, thereby artificially depressing their wages. And the continuation of that is the Johnson vs. Zuffa antitrust lawsuit.

So, back in October 2025, Judge Boulware passed an order to Dominance MMA and other management companies to hand over all the substantial evidence of how the negotiations with the UFC took place regarding fighters. This included emails, text messages, and other relevant materials to determine if the promotions conducted fair negotiations. However, it appears that Abdelaziz and his associates did not comply with the order.

Dominance MMA noted that they are a tiny company with virtually no staff, and hence claimed that complying would shut the business down. But who knew Judge Boulware would provide an ultimatum this time?

“Dominance has up to, and including, March 17, 2026, to provide this information. Third, this Court intends to award reasonable costs, and fees, to Plaintiffs based on Dominance’s failure to comply with their own discovery obligations, as well as this Courts prior orders. To that end, Plaintiffs have up to, and including, April 5, 2026, to file a motion for attorney’s fees, which is accompanied by a reasonable calculation of their fees and costs.”

Abdelaziz’s company was a third party to this case. Not only that, but he is also one of the standout MMA managers with several fighters under him. And keeping that in mind, his communications could reveal the UFC negotiations with a large share of the roster.

But since they are resisting compliance with the court’s order, it seemingly has put them against the plaintiffs and on the UFC’s side. So, now the ultimate ruling regarding Dominance MMA is that if they fail to disclose the information, they could face monetary charges.

As such, according to reports from investigative journalist Mike Russell, the UFC could also have to pay the plaintiffs’ attorney fees. That said, the order against Abdelaziz’s management company isn’t the only one that Judge Boulware passed on the session.

What are the other developments regarding the Johnson vs. Zuffa antitrust lawsuit?

In the latest hearing, the court also advised the parties that it wants to appoint Mr. Eric Wedin of Kroll as an independent court expert in this case. According to the reports online, Mr. Wedin has more than ten years of digital forensics experience in complex cybersecurity investigations.

That includes incident response involving email compromise and wire transfer fraud, corporate espionage, insider threats, ransomware, and data exfiltration. Considering the nature of the latest orders regarding the disposal of an inventory of mobile devices, Wedin will step in as an expert. Other than that, Judge Boulware also had a series of orders for Dana White & Co.

“First, the Parties are HEREBY ORDERED to meet and confer about outstanding subpoenas to Tracy Long, Dana White, Hunter Campbell, Mick Maynard, and Denitza Batchvarova. These individuals are FURTHER ORDERED to supply their respective mobile carriers with their consent, such that the carriers may disclose responsive metadata on their behalf.

By consenting, these individuals are not waiving any claim(s) of attorney-client privilege regarding the substance of their mobile data. The Parties may seek an additional order from this Court to compel production pursuant to these subpoenas. Second, IT IS FURTHER ORDERED Defendants now have up to, and including, March 21, 2026, to collect, and process, all devices belonging to the thirty additional custodians which were proposed by Plaintiffs and approved by this Court.”

So, March 17 is now an important deadline date, where Ali Abdelaziz‘s management company, Dominance MMA, will have to disclose details for staff devices. After that, April 3 would be the final deadline for Dominance MMA to produce all missing records or face contempt of court.

Meanwhile, for the UFC and Dana White & Co., they have to collect and process devices from 30 additional employees. As such, the court believed that the original small group of high-level executives (like Dana White and Hunter Campbell) was not enough to capture the full scope of the alleged “scheme” to delete messages or bypass record-keeping rules.

The reason behind this push is probably the plaintiffs’ belief that UFC executives may have systematically used private messages to conduct business and potentially collude on fighter contracts, bypassing official record-keeping. Uncovering such a ‘scheme’ would be crucial evidence supporting their claims of anti-competitive behavior.

That said, as things stand, with the delays from a few parties, the complication is more likely. So, it will be interesting to see how the situation unfolds next.