Dana White is the face of the UFC, serving as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), while taking on the role of a promoter. He’s one of the most hands-on promoters across combat sports, and the UFC under his leadership has become one of the most successful sports franchises in the modern landscape. But then the UFC is a business at the end of the day, and White isn’t sailing in multiple boats at once.

Like any enterprise, there are various other key figures, working in the background to ensure the continued success of the world’s premier MMA promotion. So, who are the people—besides Dana White—running the show? Let’s find out.

Lawrence Epstein – Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Lawrence Epstein has been serving the UFC since 2007. Currently sitting on the throne of the Chief Operating Officer, Epstein has been pivotal in the MMA promotion’s massive success.  In 2016, he even joined the Board of Directors of the National Foundation on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition. But in the UFC, he is the man behind global operations. He manages worldwide business strategies, establishes policies, evaluates overall performance and growth, and leads the organization’s accelerated growth. 

Hunter Campbell – Chief Business Officer (CBO)

Hunter Campbell is a businessman and a practitioner of law. As the Chief Business Officer of the UFC, he manages business strategies and negotiations, including fighter contracts and partnerships. And his legacy speaks for him. Before stepping up as the CBO, Campbell was the Executive Vice President and General Counsel for the fight promotion. 

Well, he is also looked at as the man who will replace the UFC head honcho upon his retirement. As of now, he is the third most important person in the UFC, after Ari Emanuel and the UFC CEO. And that’s exactly what the famed MMA reporter Ariel Helwani once said about Campbell. 

Andrew Schleimer – Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

Andrew Schleimer has been sitting on the mantle of the Chief Financial Officer for the UFC for 9 years now. Schleimer manages the fight promotion’s financial operations. This includes budgeting, forecasting, financial analysis, etc. Without the CFO, tracking cash flow and making financial plans for successful UFC events would be nigh on impossible. After all, he’s the one who lists out the organization’s financial strengths and weaknesses. 

Grant Norris-Jones – Senior Vice President, Global Partnerships

Back in March 2023, Grant Norris-Jones got promoted to oversee the UFC’s global partnerships. Ever since then, he has been leading the partnership sales, activations, and operations teams in locations like New York, Las Vegas, Sao Paulo, Sydney, Shanghai, London, and Toronto. Norris-Jones is the one responsible for creating opportunities and integrating programs with brand partners throughout the MMA promotion’s portfolio. Well, he’s the one who brought in sponsorship deals from DraftKings, Monster, Modelo, PRIME Hydration, Timex, Kraft Heinz, and José Cuervo. 

And speaking of Norris-Jones, Lawrence Epstein once said, “The demand by best-in-class companies to partner with UFC has never been stronger, and Grant has played a vital role by creating meaningful and authentic integrations for our partners. Working alongside Endeavor’s global partnerships team, we’re confident Grant and his team will continue our track record of delivering innovative brand activations for our partners.”

Marc Ratner – Vice President of Regulatory Affairs

After working for the Nevada State Athletic Commission as an Executive Director, Marc Ratner has become the Vice President of Regulatory Affairs. And he has been acing the role since 2006. He’s, no doubt one of the most respected personnel in the UFC’s top brass. He was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame class for 2020 as a Contributor.

Weighing in on that, Dana White said, “Marc Ratner is the most influential and respected regulator in combat sports history. Marc was instrumental in getting the sport of mixed martial arts sanctioned and regulated globally and the tireless work he did educating athletic commissions about MMA paved the way for us to host events around the world. It will be an honor for me to induct him into the UFC Hall of Fame Class of 2020.”

If we go back to 2006, UFC was sanctioned in only 22 US states. But with Ratner taking the regulatory leaps, the fight promotion got sanctioned in all 50 states. Even Canada, Mexico, and Western Australia have accepted mixed martial arts as a respectable sport. Needless to say, Ratner has done wonders for the sport. 

What are your thoughts on a C-structured hierarchy? Let us know what you think in the debate section below.