This is the story. Questions of taste is interesting and useful, but not where the focus needs to be.
This could be seen all the way back during the TUF days. And was amplified during the start of COVID with the self-promotion of Dana White as the hero guiding the company through the storm. This is another big step up. One of the many reasons that it makes sense that White and Trump get along.
The % of ads featuring Dana White is really something - trucks, crypto, insurance, the United States. 0 featuring fighters. Can't think of another major, or even minor, sport where you see the CEO of the company and not the athletes making money off commercials. Same with the pre-event promotion.
Also, without a doubt, @karimzidan.com is the person to follow if you want to understand the intersection of combat sport and politics.
Great talking to Joe Miller @financialtimes.com about the less than subtle intersection of sports & politics/intersection of Trump & the UFC that is playing out on the White House lawn tonight.
really insightful take as always from @dieworkwear.bsky.social (+ the reason why it is dangerous to lean to far into a critique of the aesthetics and dismissing the sport rather than focusing on all the corruption and money being wasted)
This piece by Dr. Gounder both reminds us of the courage and value of Grant Wahl’s sports writing (and what we have lost) by covering the many public health failures surrounding the current ebola outbreak right as travel ramps up for the World Cup. Reminder to self to read everything Céline writes.
One critique of the White House fights is an aesthetic one. And I think that critique matters. But the more significant one in my mind is the amount of money exchanging hands and pockets being filled (+ those hands generally being quite dirty and those pockets quite corrupt).