At least in the U.S., UFC has prioritized removing any point of leverage that could be used against them - even if it means alienating once loyal audiences.
A note from David Bixenspan: "Good piece. One aspect I feel like you're missing, though: Dana doing this while TKO is facing lawsuits for both sex trafficking and enabling/covering up child sexual abuse. Not welcoming the Tates should be the bare minimum for that company, but because nothing matters anymore, DFW did it anyway."
Fan since 2005 but watching a UFC ppv is like being at a party I don't want to be at anymore. I see Tate, Elon, Zuck, Trump etc all in the crowd being cheered on and welcomed. Even the fighters support them! I just can't be around that shit anymore.
If I tell anyone I meet I'm into MMA I feel like I need to give this huge disclaimer about my own ethics and politics first before I even say what I like about the sport. What other sport is like that?
Luke, as someone who found you through your writing way back in the mid to late 2000’s damn is it good to read your analysis again. Your audio & video endeavors through the years have been great but your writing has always been my favorite and I look forward to more on the Substack.
As a 43 yr old lifelong fight junkie (boxing as long as I can remember and MMA since Vitor/Tank and Frank Shamrock/Tito) I’ve lived through many cycles of MMA and friends who tuned in for a time and tuned out. At this point I’m the only one who still regularly follows the sport. Over saturation was tough for me in the Fox days but I adjusted. This hard right pivot you described is much harder to swallow and has me questioning how much longer I can really invest in this sport. You really nailed it and like everyone else in the comments I appreciate you being one of the few voices left to offer critical perspective & sober analysis on the state of the game.
I can't help but see parallels between the UFC's systematic removal of organizations that may leverage them and the current actions of the White House. But perhaps that's just my Trump Derangement Syndrome talking...
I agree with your points. I'd add that fighter pay is something that really matters to me. Call me a leftie, but it doesn't sit well that upper management rakes in compensation while dangling the idea of "stardom" for high level payment (while also barely attempting to build stars anymore) coupled with most of the roster in the 10k/10k range.
You shouldn't be able to call yourself the premier product and allow your athletes to get potentially irreversible bodily or brain damage for 10 grand.
I think 100k minimum should be starting wage per fight. You'd get better fights, better fighters, less guilt about watching a bloody war that net the winner 20k, and the fighters the ability to truly dedicate their lives to their fighting career.
I think you might have put into words why I don't follow MMA like I used too. I love combat sports. I hate following it at this point. My rational friends can't understand why I would support such a company, I promise I don't give a dime to TKO, with my time and passion of their product. I still enjoy big fights, big personalities, and keeping up with my favorite fighters. I cannot force myself to watch any content UFC produces outside of the major fights I need to see. Good read Luke. Glad you started your Substack to provide those of us who no longer engage in the sport as we once did. I will always enjoy to hear your opinions and thoughts on the world and society we live in.
If you knew how many times someone has written me the last 2 or 3 years to express their dismay at the UFC's rightward turn, it would genuinely shock you.
I find the UFC's Trump-Musk-Zuck-Kadyrov love-fest super cringe and tasteless, but it's not why my interest in the product has been waning recently.
I do view Trump's victory as a direct manifestation of Americans' frustration with the corporate, anti-worker uni-party that embodies both the establishment democrat and republican parties. I think it was the only way to say F-you to the typical elite class. However, I simultaneously believe that this particular administration isn't the solution those voters think it is, and is full of problematic actions and views. I say that to illustrate I'm a bit of a day-walker politically-speaking as a UFC fan.
Mainly, I think you and BC were spot-on in your assessment of the promotional failures of the company as of late. The star-problem mixed with uninspired matchmaking. Everything (especially including many recent PPV's) has been so by-the-numbers lately. Jones is utterly ruining the already shit heavyweight division. LHW is almost as bad. DDP fought Strickland instead of Khamzat. Belal is injured. Topuria dropped the belt. They can barely get contenders for Pantoja. Where's Chucky Olives? Oh he's recovering from his second fight with Chandler. So. Many. Rematches.
I started watching in 2018, and when Max, Volk, Khabib, Izzy, Kamaru, Rose, and Big Francis were on top, it was electrifying. I haven't felt that level of exhilaration in far too long.
I started following MMA when I was about 11 (2006) and my dad would buy the PPV’s for him and my brother and I to watch and I participated in martial arts throughout childhood. It’s been jarring to see this shift toward a right wing hegemony in the sport. At this point the way I’ve been able to get friends to engage is an appeal to spaces like this having people present who don’t represent this ideology as a statement that martial arts and combat sports don’t have to be couched in a philosophical perspective of nihilistic dominance. That appeal is getting harder and harder to make although I still love the sport.
On the bright side, the moral questions surrounding PPV piracy and watching human beings beat each other senseless have proved to have much simpler and easier answers in the last decade. It can hardly make anything worse. They aren't using their brain cells or influences regardless.
A note from David Bixenspan: "Good piece. One aspect I feel like you're missing, though: Dana doing this while TKO is facing lawsuits for both sex trafficking and enabling/covering up child sexual abuse. Not welcoming the Tates should be the bare minimum for that company, but because nothing matters anymore, DFW did it anyway."
https://bsky.app/profile/davidbix.bsky.social/post/3lklsvmqfmk2v
Fan since 2005 but watching a UFC ppv is like being at a party I don't want to be at anymore. I see Tate, Elon, Zuck, Trump etc all in the crowd being cheered on and welcomed. Even the fighters support them! I just can't be around that shit anymore.
If I tell anyone I meet I'm into MMA I feel like I need to give this huge disclaimer about my own ethics and politics first before I even say what I like about the sport. What other sport is like that?
💯about the disclaimer. And that was before it became overtly cozy with right wing political views.
Luke, as someone who found you through your writing way back in the mid to late 2000’s damn is it good to read your analysis again. Your audio & video endeavors through the years have been great but your writing has always been my favorite and I look forward to more on the Substack.
As a 43 yr old lifelong fight junkie (boxing as long as I can remember and MMA since Vitor/Tank and Frank Shamrock/Tito) I’ve lived through many cycles of MMA and friends who tuned in for a time and tuned out. At this point I’m the only one who still regularly follows the sport. Over saturation was tough for me in the Fox days but I adjusted. This hard right pivot you described is much harder to swallow and has me questioning how much longer I can really invest in this sport. You really nailed it and like everyone else in the comments I appreciate you being one of the few voices left to offer critical perspective & sober analysis on the state of the game.
We have truly entered the era of vice signaling.
I can't help but see parallels between the UFC's systematic removal of organizations that may leverage them and the current actions of the White House. But perhaps that's just my Trump Derangement Syndrome talking...
I agree with your points. I'd add that fighter pay is something that really matters to me. Call me a leftie, but it doesn't sit well that upper management rakes in compensation while dangling the idea of "stardom" for high level payment (while also barely attempting to build stars anymore) coupled with most of the roster in the 10k/10k range.
You shouldn't be able to call yourself the premier product and allow your athletes to get potentially irreversible bodily or brain damage for 10 grand.
I think 100k minimum should be starting wage per fight. You'd get better fights, better fighters, less guilt about watching a bloody war that net the winner 20k, and the fighters the ability to truly dedicate their lives to their fighting career.
Just my thoughts.
I think you might have put into words why I don't follow MMA like I used too. I love combat sports. I hate following it at this point. My rational friends can't understand why I would support such a company, I promise I don't give a dime to TKO, with my time and passion of their product. I still enjoy big fights, big personalities, and keeping up with my favorite fighters. I cannot force myself to watch any content UFC produces outside of the major fights I need to see. Good read Luke. Glad you started your Substack to provide those of us who no longer engage in the sport as we once did. I will always enjoy to hear your opinions and thoughts on the world and society we live in.
If you knew how many times someone has written me the last 2 or 3 years to express their dismay at the UFC's rightward turn, it would genuinely shock you.
Looog ❤️
I find the UFC's Trump-Musk-Zuck-Kadyrov love-fest super cringe and tasteless, but it's not why my interest in the product has been waning recently.
I do view Trump's victory as a direct manifestation of Americans' frustration with the corporate, anti-worker uni-party that embodies both the establishment democrat and republican parties. I think it was the only way to say F-you to the typical elite class. However, I simultaneously believe that this particular administration isn't the solution those voters think it is, and is full of problematic actions and views. I say that to illustrate I'm a bit of a day-walker politically-speaking as a UFC fan.
Mainly, I think you and BC were spot-on in your assessment of the promotional failures of the company as of late. The star-problem mixed with uninspired matchmaking. Everything (especially including many recent PPV's) has been so by-the-numbers lately. Jones is utterly ruining the already shit heavyweight division. LHW is almost as bad. DDP fought Strickland instead of Khamzat. Belal is injured. Topuria dropped the belt. They can barely get contenders for Pantoja. Where's Chucky Olives? Oh he's recovering from his second fight with Chandler. So. Many. Rematches.
I started watching in 2018, and when Max, Volk, Khabib, Izzy, Kamaru, Rose, and Big Francis were on top, it was electrifying. I haven't felt that level of exhilaration in far too long.
I started following MMA when I was about 11 (2006) and my dad would buy the PPV’s for him and my brother and I to watch and I participated in martial arts throughout childhood. It’s been jarring to see this shift toward a right wing hegemony in the sport. At this point the way I’ve been able to get friends to engage is an appeal to spaces like this having people present who don’t represent this ideology as a statement that martial arts and combat sports don’t have to be couched in a philosophical perspective of nihilistic dominance. That appeal is getting harder and harder to make although I still love the sport.
On the bright side, the moral questions surrounding PPV piracy and watching human beings beat each other senseless have proved to have much simpler and easier answers in the last decade. It can hardly make anything worse. They aren't using their brain cells or influences regardless.
Really great piece Luke, I appreciate your participation in important conversations!