[[link removed]]

DONALD TRUMP’S UFC STUNT IS MORE THAN A CIRCUS.  
[[link removed]]


 

Karim Zidan
July 5, 2025
The Guardian
[[link removed]]


*
[[link removed].]
*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]

_ MMA was once used to curry favor with Putin. Now, Trump is using
the UFC to project a nationalist cult of masculinity _

Over the past few years, Trump has frequently attended UFC events,
basking in the admiration of the young, predominantly male crowd,
Giorgio Viera/AFP/Getty Images

 

Ten years ago – before I became an investigative journalist – I
found myself working as a color commentator for a Russian mixed
martial arts organization bankrolled by an oligarch deep in Vladimir
Putin’s orbit.

The job took me around the Russian Federation and its neighboring
states, allowing me to pursue unique stories that would otherwise have
been out of my reach. I met a Latvian fighter who escaped a black
magic cult run by his coach, attended an MMA
[[link removed]] show with the president of
Ingushetia (now Russia’s deputy minister of defence) and knocked
back vodka shots with ex-KGB officers and Russian oligarchs.

Then there was the time the organization attempted to host an event in
Moscow’s famed Red Square, one of the most historically and
politically significant landmarks in Russia. It also sits adjacent to
the Kremlin, the seat of Russia’s political power. The event would
have been a chance for the organization and its oligarch to ingratiate
themselves to Putin, a known MMA fan who had previously attended their
shows.

Logistical issues, including security concerns and layers of
bureaucratic red tape, rendered the event impossible at the time. But
the incident stuck with me nonetheless as an example of the political
undercurrent flowing through the sport. That memory became especially
relevant as Donald Trump announced plans
[[link removed]]
to host an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event at the White
House to commemorate the nation’s 250th birthday next year.

Speaking to a crowd of supporters during a Salute to America event in
Iowa Thursday, Trump said: “Does anybody watch UFC
[[link removed]]? The great Dana White? We’re
going to have a UFC fight. We’re going to have a UFC fight – think
of this – on the grounds of the White House. We have a lot of land
there.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the news during
the press briefing, adding that the president was “dead serious”
about hosting a UFC event at the official residence and workplace of
the president.

The announcement comes as no surprise given Trump’s longstanding
relationship with the UFC, its current owner Ari Emanuel and its CEO
Dana White.

Over the past few years, Trump has frequently attended UFC events
[[link removed]],
basking in the admiration of the young, predominantly male crowd. He
has cultivated relationships with fighters, leveraging their support
to portray himself as a symbolic strongman. He has embraced the
UFC’s culture of defiance, machismo and spectacle to help buttress
his image as a rebel against liberal norms. It has also hastened the
replacement of America’s conventional political culture with an
abrasive new blend of entertainment and confrontational politics,
perfectly embodied by both Trump and White.

The UFC CEO stumped for Trump at three Republican national conventions
and a slew of campaign rallies over the past eight years. He traveled
with the president on Air Force One and produced a propaganda
documentary on Trump entitled Combatant-in-Chief. And when Trump won
the 2024 presidential election, it was White who took the stage at his
victory party – because, naturally, Trump needed his fight promoter
to seal the deal.

For the UFC, its association with Trump has granted the once-renegade
promotion a new kind of political legitimacy and influence. It also
set it apart from other sports leagues through its unapologetically
conservative posture. The UFC is even sponsoring the United States
semiquincentennial [[link removed]],
dubbed America250, joining the likes of Amazon, the Coca-Cola Company,
Oracle and Walmart.

Since taking office in January, Trump has attended two UFC events. He
most recently attended UFC 316 in June just hours after signing a memo
ordering the deployment of 2,000 national guard troops to Los Angeles
county after Ice immigration raids sparked mass protests. He
nevertheless enjoyed a standing ovation from the fans in attendance,
and glowing endorsements from the fighters, one of whom even kneeled
before Trump. UFC champion Kayla Harrison embraced him, planted a kiss
on his cheek and wrapped her championship belt around his waist as his
family and supporters looked on in delight. It was a spectacle
befitting the strongman Trump imagines himself to be.
Which is why Trump’s plan to stage a UFC event at the White House
makes perfect sense. It is the natural climax of a partnership in
which the UFC has become the stage for Maga mythology. It carries
shades of fascist Italy under Benito Mussolini, particularly its
obsession with masculinity, spectacle and nationalism – but with a
modern, American twist.

Fascist Italy used rallies, parades and sports events to project
strength and unity. Sports, especially combat sports, were used as
tools to cultivate Mussolini’s ideal masculinity and portray Italy
as a strong and powerful nation. Similarly, Trump has relied on the
UFC to project his tough-guy image, and to celebrate his brand of
nationalistic masculinity. From name-dropping champions who endorse
him to suggesting a tournament that would pit UFC fighters against
illegal immigrants
[[link removed]],
Trump has repeatedly found ways to make UFC-style machismo a part of
his political brand.

Since Trump returned to office in January, his presidency has been
marked by a purge of federal agencies, crackdowns on dissent and
immigration, and hollowing out institutions once designed as
guardrails against abuses in presidential power. Loyalty to Trump,
rather than the constitution and the American people, has become the
primary litmus test for political advancement. Meanwhile, sports have
emerged as a central feature of his administration
[[link removed]],
advancing his policies while projecting a cult of personality and the
celebration of violence. All of these are the hallmarks of
authoritarianism.

There was once a time when the US could point to the authoritarian
pageantry of regimes like Mussolini’s Italy and claim at least
_some_ moral distance. That line is no longer visible. What was once
soft power borrowed from strongmen is now being proudly performed on
America’s own front lawn.

*
Karim Zidan writes a regular newsletter
[[link removed]] on the intersection of sports and
authoritarian politics.

At this dangerous moment for dissent

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you close this tab, I
wanted to ask if you could support the Guardian at this crucial time
for journalism in the US.

* Trump
[[link removed]]
* Fascism
[[link removed]]

*
[[link removed].]
*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]

 

 

 

INTERPRET THE WORLD AND CHANGE IT

 

 

Submit via web
[[link removed]]

Submit via email
Frequently asked questions
[[link removed]]
Manage subscription
[[link removed]]
Visit xxxxxx.org
[[link removed]]

Twitter [[link removed]]

Facebook [[link removed]]

 




[link removed]

To unsubscribe, click the following link:
[link removed]