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Trump has turned MMA into MAGA’s national sport

And the new... Credit: Getty

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.

This phenomenon isn’t limited to American politics. In Brazil, former president Jair Bolsonaro enjoys backing from numerous current and former fighters. Former UFC champion Deiveson Figueiredo shared pro-Bolsonaro posts calling for military intervention. Over the years, the Right-wing politician has also received endorsements from UFC champions including Anderson Silva, Rafael dos Anjos, and Cris Cyborg, along with the entire Gracie family, co-creators of Brazilian jiu-jitsu and the UFC.

The UFC, and MMA in general, has long attracted Right-wing fans. As journalist Karim Zidan has explained at length, Right-wing activists have used the sport’s counter-culture mystique to entice disenfranchised young men and provide shared spaces to spread ideology. They have integrated themselves into local fight scenes, normalising their presence in the process.

To its detriment, the Left has no comparable grassroots sporting relationship. While individual athletes in other sports may lean Left or — as shown by gestures in support of Black Lives Matters — make concessions to mainstream liberalism, no major sport offers Democrats the kind of authentic connection that Trump has cultivated with the UFC community. Now, as he gears up for another term, his alliance with mixed martial arts appears stronger than ever. It’s a relationship that’s evolved into something more genuine, and more politically significant, than establishment politicians who once sought to shut down the sport could have ever anticipated.


Oliver Bateman is a historian and journalist based in Pittsburgh. He blogs, vlogs, and podcasts at his Substack, Oliver Bateman Does the Work

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Nigel Wilson
Nigel Wilson
20 days ago

Please can authors always define abbreviations at their first use? I’ll need to Google UFC.

Benedict Waterson
Benedict Waterson
20 days ago
Reply to  Nigel Wilson

Umbrella Fondue Controversy

Graham Stull
Graham Stull
20 days ago

I maintain that the umbrella dippers were actually in the right. Controversial opinion I know, but the chewiness of the nylon, the crunch of the metal frame, all combined with the warm gooiness of the melted cheese. Mmmm. Delicious.

James Twigg
James Twigg
20 days ago

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.

Michael Lynch
Michael Lynch
20 days ago
Reply to  James Twigg

Much as many people don’t like to acknowledge it, many young men -not all, but a significant number – do like fighting. Generally it is in a group, so they can share their support and masculinity for and with each other and they can experience the thrill and adrenaline rush of conflict. Football hooliganism in the 1970s and 1980s had little to do with football but a lot to do with tribalism and collective identity. Supporting a club gave a framework for this to be expressed, and the rumble, ruck or punch up was for some fans an integral part of this identity. I was at football in England in the 70s and 80s and while personally not involved I knew people who were on the fringes, and they all thought it a great laugh and a way of proving themselves with their peer group. That latent desire is always likely to be part of the male psyche, although attempts to water it down, delegitimise it and make it unlawful will continue no doubt.

Steve Jolly
Steve Jolly
20 days ago
Reply to  Michael Lynch

It’s a sign of the stupidity of our current age that people are actually consciously trying to water down, delegitimize, and make unlawful aspects of human nature that have existed since forever and think they can actually succeed in doing so.

Champagne Socialist
Champagne Socialist
20 days ago
Reply to  James Twigg

This is a comically stupid misunderstanding of what Fight Club is actually about.

Graham Stull
Graham Stull
20 days ago

Thanks for enlightening us, Champagne. For a moment, I was worried you were just going to troll by dropping an insulting one-liner then leaving.

Lesley van Reenen
Lesley van Reenen
20 days ago
Reply to  Graham Stull

Nailed it!

Steve Jolly
Steve Jolly
20 days ago

So could you enlighten us with the true meaning then?

Champagne Socialist
Champagne Socialist
18 days ago
Reply to  Steve Jolly

Yes, I could.

Champagne Socialist
Champagne Socialist
20 days ago

MAGA and UFC are absolutely welcome to each other – both represent the absolute worst of America. I mean, Kid Rock?!?! He sucked when he was popular 25 years ago!
And what is with the weird bromance with Musk and Trump? A rich guy endorsing a clown for a tax cut is one thing but this is going way too far! Yeuch!

Benjamin Perez
Benjamin Perez
20 days ago

No one’s better at employing argumentum ad hominem & thought-terminating clichés as you, C.S.