D.C. Names H.C. As Next D.W.

01/07/2025 07:17 AM

Campbell is the man making a lot of the biggest fights in the UFC this day, and Cormier believes it'll be Hunter that replaces Dana, if anyone ever does.

There was a minute years ago when people were pointing to Daniel Cormier as a possible successor to Dana White as frontman for the UFC. Now D.C. is telling us who that's really gonna be, and it's UFC CBO Hunter Campbell.

For years, White just referred to Campbell as 'my lawyer.' But over the past year there's been a big push to get Campbell's name out there, and halfway through the year Hunter's role was laid out for all to see in Roku's 'Fight Inc: Inside the UFC' series. He's the guy negotiating all the big UFC fights these days, and according to Cormier he makes it easy.

"When was the last time you heard an executive's name called as many times as Hunter Campbell?" Cormier asked Mike Bohn during a recent interview. "He has developed a way of relating to the athletes and their managers that make fights that seem like they won't happen, or can't happen, come together."

"It was only a few years ago that he took the lead in negotiations and everything. I go back to my last fight four years ago, as a former champion, he called. It was literally [because] we had built a relationship over the last few years of my career that he called. Two sentences. 'We're gonna do this with DC. Same as before.' And we were done. No negative.

"You build this appreciation for making the negotiations easy, because at times they can be so difficult," Cormier added. "But just listen to the amount of fighters that not only take their cap to Dana White anymore, but to Hunter Campbell."

People who have been paying attention noticed Hunter's name getting dropped in more and more post-fight interviews. As Dana White spends more time doing ultra-rich power broker stuff and less time in the trenches booking fights, it's become clear Hunter Campbell is the guy running a lot of the day-to-day.

"A guy like him usually plays behind the scene, but I bet anyone that's been to an event knows who that guy is now," Cormier concluded before agreeing it seems like he was being primed for White's job. "That's exactly what it feels like. And again, for me, he played such an important role."

We don't expect White to go anywhere anytime soon. He doesn't have to for Hunter Campbell to continue taking on more responsibility in the company. White is clearly the best frontman the UFC could ever have, and we expect him to hold that position until he drops dead or a scandal too big to survive finally hits. But if you're wondering who's playing good cop (while also taking care of a lot of the dirty work) these days, it's Hunter Campbell.