Barring a last minute injunction, the UFC will hold an event on the South Lawn of the White House on Sunday, July 14th which happens to be the current president’s birthday. The UFC has inextricably tied itself to the polarizing president regardless of public image.
UFC head Dana White has proclaimed Sunday’s event to be non-political despite the fact that his company got this opportunity for helping the president get elected and bolstering his image with his own walkouts during high-visible UFC PPV events. White has spoken at the Republican National Convention three times. He’s a Trump confidant and has been doing his press tour prior to this event praising the him.
Yet, its clear that being associated with the president is not great for the public image.
Most recently, he was condemned for attending Game 3 of the NBA Finals in New York. As a result, fans showed up two hours prior to the game to get through security, they cannot bring bags of any kind into Madison Square Garden and there can not be any viewing parties outside of MSG. The Knicks lost.
The president released a musical lineup of artists that would perform as part of a Freedom 250 concert series that would celebrate America in Washington D.C. However, the acts, one by one dropped out realizing that the gig would be associated with the Trump administration. Despite being long in the tooth, the likes of Young MC and Milli Vanilli backed out of the concerts recognizing it would be associated with a man that is accused of raping underage minors on Epstein Island and will not produce records that could absolve of the accusations.
Only FloRida and Vanilla Ice remained as those willing to do the gig. Nevertheless, the Freedom 250 concert series was scrapped.
Many more celebrities are conscience of the stigma that comes with associating yourself with this administration. Multiple professional sports teams have steered clear of an invite to the White House due to the potential issues it may bring upon itself.
But it is the UFC that remains an undying loyalist to the Trump regime. For its part, the UFC has reaped the benefits. Trump is now an investor in TKO as revealed with his purchase of stock this past spring. It is now linked with a defense contractor with lucrative contracts with the government. It also received a pledge from a Trump-supported company, World Liberty Financial. The company that supported an administration crypto coin and stopped an SEC investigation of a Chinese Crypto King after he invested in the company. That company pledged money into a “bonus pool” for fighters.
Oh yeah, they also are supporting legislation which would allow its newest venture, Zuffa Boxing, to conduct business like it has done in the UFC. The Muhammad Ali American Revival Act will update safety and pay for fighters. It will also make Zuffa Boxing a monopolist in the industry as it will be both sanctioning body and promoter – ensuring that it has its thumb on its contracted fighters. This business model is the same reason why it has paid a settlement of $375M to former fighters and continues to be embroiled in three more antitrust lawsuits.
On Saturday afternoon, the alleged non-partisan event at the Ellipse included large screens supporting Trump and TPUSA, the Charlie Kirk-backed conservative nonprofit. There was no news of other approved political affiliations at the event.
Obviously, Dana White and Donald Trump have helped one another throughout the years. Dana has helped Trump deliver a young white demo to vote for him and Trump has given Dana access to things that even the Fertittas could not afford him. Will this ever change for the UFC? So long as things are bringing the company money, its unlikely.
Originally posted on Patreon.
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