How much Middle Eastern exposure can the UFC handle?
The UFC debuts in Baku, Azerbaijan Saturday in the midst of a regional war
This post is dedicated to the memory of Arabian journalist Turki al-Jassar, who paid the ultimate price for telling his truth. His words will outlive both the regime that killed him and the global nihilism that grants impunity to criminals to repeatedly offend.
At a certain point, I just have to ask: how much politics can be mixed into the UFC stew before it becomes completely unpalatable?
As Zach Arnold has argued over the last couple of years, the UFC is no longer just an American fight promotion. They’re a political mercenary partially financed by Abu Dhabi that is looking at every other world government as a potential mark, excuse me, partner. TKO is focused relentlessly on its relationships with world governments, whether it’s Dana White sponsoring Trump’s failparade last weekend, or Nick Khan working overtime to salvage a deal between Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority and Netflix.
What Middle Eastern powers want from UFC, WWE, and boxing
It’s slowly dawning on Americans, who are so used to being the center-of-attention in fight sports, that they’re no longer in first place.
There’s also the seemingly nonstop flow of cheap fighters from countries under sanction by the U.S. like Russia (Dagestan, Chechnya) and China. The ever-growing relationship with Saudi Arabia. The Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, Mubadala bringing in the Russian sovereign wealth fund as a TKO shareholder. Hiring an Obama and Netflix alum in a major new government affairs executive role.
Does anyone really doubt that Mark Shapiro would host a fight in Tehran tomorrow for the right price? These people are utterly cynical nihilists.
The UFC is no longer about putting on the best fights or trying to win over fans. Now it’s about the highest bidder and who’s friends with whom. UFC and WWE show weekends are prizes to be bid on by favored locales — and sometimes taken away from unfavored entities like New Orleans.
Seeing the UFC live is no longer something the “Just Bleed” crowd can afford. A UFC ticket is a status symbol like a Gucci bag or some fancy-ass watch I don’t even know the name of.
Mark Shapiro is like a fearless DoorDash driver, ready to deliver to the most high-risk neighborhood for the promise of a fat tip. Potential regional war between nuclear powers? Not a problem!