Did the Ultimate Fighting Championship help elect Donald Trump?
It sounds absurd, but dig into the history of the UFC and the alliance between its CEO and our now-president, and it becomes clear that the organization was a critical player in MAGA's appeal to young men, with its harsh bravado and increasing willingness by UFC fighters to parrot the anti-immigrant, anti-trans, bullying smack talk of Trump. In turn, UFC transcended its fringe beginnings and now enjoys mainstream popularity.
But will the upcoming White House card end up hurting UFC in the long run?
I explored the question in a piece today, where Kyle Green, a sociologist who writes on the intersection of sports and politics, warned that there are limits to the power and wealth White has amassed through his friendship with Trump.
There’s also a reason why White is so keen, these days, to claim that he’s apolitical and, as he recently told the New Yorker’s David Remnick, that he leans more left. Find out why and much more, including the controversial tactics of mixed martial arts, what's behind all that smack talk, and the wild Lincoln Memorial weigh-in, in my latest.
—Inae Oh
