TKO is not a fight promoter. It is a financial and political system.
Sounds heavy, right? Because it is. And this week’s edition of The MMA Draw podcast breaks down some key information that is shocking in its size and scope, but something you really should know about.
We expanded the length of our show, both on the free and paid portions, because we think this is important information that you should know about.
Ari Emanuel and Mark Shapiro expect their fighters and fans to be loyal to them, while they have zero loyalty to you.
What their recent behavior also reveals is that it’s not enough for politicians to buy TKO government contracts for shows. All sales are not final. Just ask New Orleans with Wrestlemania, and now ask Boston when it comes to satisfying TKO’s demands to host John Cena’s WWE retirement match.
It’s just business… except when it’s not.
As you’re reading this, the UFC political system is engaging with the California State Athletic Commission to formally endorse The Muhammad Ali Boxing Revival Act (or what is colloquially known as The Ari Act.)
We are witnessing a full-scale political invasion of fight sports, and Ari Emanuel is orchestrating all of it. The fruits of this invasion can be seen this weekend in Las Vegas with the Netflix presentation of Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford.
There’s a lot happening behind the scenes on Wall Street that you may not be privy to. This is where we come in at The MMA Draw podcast to connect the dots and put the puzzle pieces together.
We’ve had an awesome 2025 reporting campaign, and our subscribers were long ahead of the curve as to what WWE & UFC were up to on media rights deals and major political alliances throughout the world.
All of this impacts you, whether you like it or not. And whether the powers-that-be like it or not, we are here to be your voice at a time when some really good people are exiting this space.
Why are you paying so much money to go to a WWE or UFC show? Where is that money going? How is TKO getting away with doubling its stock dividend? How did management become more important than the fighters? When did you become a servant to political leaders?
To understand this brave new world, you have to understand who and what Ari Emanuel represents. Ari is taking your cash from WWE & UFC ventures in order to put it into expanding his personal ventures in Saudi Arabia for activities like comedy, tennis, and media rights deals.
You thought you could escape politics by watching cage fighting or wrestling. You were dead wrong. Now you need a friend on your side. That’s why we exist.
You can check out The MMA Draw Podcast on Substack via the following feeds:
Zach Arnold is the lead opinion writer for The MMA Draw Newsletter on Substack. You can e-mail him at fightopinion - at - protonmail dot com.
Nate Wilcox founded Bloody Elbow in 2007 and sold it in 2024.
