How Trump is changing sport and there’s no going back

OPINION

“Sports fans have no interest in politics, they don’t want to hear what your opinions are or who you’re voting for.”

UFC president Dana White’s comments when discussing the relationship between politics and sport on Fox’s Hannity in 2021 reflected a leader who believed that sport should provide an escape for the audience rather than steering them on their political preferences.

This separation between UFC and politics though has become murky in recent times as White’s public support of president elect Donald Trump reached new heights during the 2024 American election. 

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White, who has held a close relationship with Trump since 2001, has been a staunch supporter of his ‘MAGA’ movement, providing an important voice during the election. 

White has always credited Trump in helping catapult UFC to the multibillion business it now is.

“Arenas around the world refused to host our events. Nobody took us seriously – except for Donald Trump,” White told the crowd at the Republican National Convention in 2016.

White’s growing influence within the political sphere has elevated him to a kind of conductor for the new class of Trump supporting influences including the ‘Nelk Boys,’ Joe Rogan, and Theo Von.

These less traditional voices led to a growth of support for Trump within the 18 to 29-year-old bracket, especially when it came to young male voters.

Trump’s emergence as an icon for the conservative movement has only heightened his connection to the UFC audience where he is treated like a hero whenever in attendance.

UFC’s culture of defiance, machismo and spectacle mirror Trump’s own image of fighting against the liberal norms.

Fighters within the UFC including Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington have followed White’s lead in their public support for Trump, cementing the organisation as the sports arm of his political ideology. 

Global growth has seen the sport expand rapidly with UFC 312 representing the latest showcase of the reach of the sport as Sydney readies itself to welcome some of the most self-proclaimed ‘bad ass humans’ on the planet. 

The controversial Sean Strickland – who has previously gone on anti-LGBTQI rants – will help headline Sydney, highlighting the UFC’s ability to turn a blind eye to behaviours that they would have once censored.

The rhetoric around free speech which has encapsulated the Trump campaign has fed itself into a sport where White does not intend to “control what people say.”

The blurring between spectacle and politics continues to place UFC at the centre of a rising conservative movement which has had a profound impact on wider American society.

Trump’s persona as a fighter has only bolstered his image within the UFC and helped him carve out a following in America’s cultural war. 

The popularity of UFC within Australia has grown exponentially as the thirst for world class fights continues to attract record breaking crowds when the UFC comes to these shores.

For many fight fans in Australia the complex meshing of UFC and American politics could not seem further away when witnessing the electricity and energy of the octagon.

Nonetheless, the UFC octagon has become a key piece – whether by accident or design – in the fierce battle for America’s identity.