Main Edition
US
FR
November 18, 2024 - 5:30pm
The entrance of Donald Trump at UFC 309 on Saturday night, flanked by Robert F. Kennedy, Elon Musk, and UFC president Dana White, felt more like an inauguration than the January spectacle still to come. Here was the President-elect taking his place among his people, as heavyweight champion Jon Jones did the “Trump dance” in tribute after dispatching his opponent.
At the event, Trump chatted animatedly with UFC commentator and podcaster Joe Rogan, whose October interview with the then-candidate and subsequent endorsement potentially helped win over a younger male demographic. Even more than Nascar once catered to traditional Republicans, MMA is now the sport of the MAGA Right.
UFC viewers skew predominantly white, young, and male, with 10.6% of American viewers aged 18 to 29 and 33% of men in that category watching its events within the past 12 months. It is no coincidence that Trump made big gains with that group in this year’s election. While there are some notable Left-wing fighters, they are very much exceptions within a sport dominated by conservative-aligned athletes.
Dana White’s political allegiance isn’t subtle. The UFC president spoke at both the 2020 and 2024 Republican National Conventions, and was one of a handful who spoke during Trump’s victory speech on election night. The President-elect’s embrace of MMA feels more complete than his previous sporting relationships with professional wrestling, American football, and boxing — he appears to be genuinely interested in the sport and maintains a friendship with White that goes beyond mere political convenience.
Even when Trump was slowly returning to the political top table, before becoming the big winner he proved to be this month, the UFC was there for him. One of his most important interviews in August 2023 was on UFC Unfiltered, where, just as he was facing down a series of criminal prosecutions, he discussed his love of combat sports, his favourite fighters, and his role in past promotions. The YouTube video garnered 1.3 million views and the podcast was heard by many more, reaching a crucial voting bloc of young men who might otherwise tune out from traditional political media.
The connection runs deeper than mere demographics. Much more than today’s heavily sanitised corporate pro wrestling product, UFC’s promotional style — characterised by hyper-masculinity, displays of superficial wealth, and disregard for liberal pieties or political correctness — mirrors Trump’s own self-presentation. The fighters who connect most with fans, such as former middleweight champion Sean Strickland — who has spoken previously about his neo-Nazi past — do so without traditional media promotion, talking directly to audiences in the seemingly improvisatory way that has distinguished Trump from heavily scripted politicians like Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris.
Join the discussion
Join like minded readers that support our journalism by becoming a paid subscriber
To join the discussion in the comments, become a paid subscriber.
Join like minded readers that support our journalism, read unlimited articles and enjoy other subscriber-only benefits.
SubscribePlease can authors always define abbreviations at their first use? I’ll need to Google UFC.
UFC & MMA mass popularity started with the movie ‘Fight Club’ and the idea that you’re not a real man unless you have been in a street fight.