Donald Trump’s UFC stunt is more than a circus. It’s authoritarian theatre | UFC

TYears ago – before becoming an investigation journalist – I found myself working as a color commentator for a Russian organization of mixed martial arts funded by an oligarch at the bottom of the orbit of Vladimir Putin.

The work took me around the Russian Federation and its neighboring states, which allows me to pursue unique stories that would have otherwise been out of my reach. I met a Latvian fighter who escaped a black magic cult led by his coach, attended an MMA show with the president of Ingushetia (today Vice-Minister of the Defense of Russia), and I rejected vodka blows with former KGB officers and Russian oligarchs.

Then, there was time that the organization attempted to organize an event in the famous Red Place in Moscow, one of the most historically and politically significant monuments in Russia. It is also adjacent to the Kremlin, the siege of the political power of Russia. The event would have been an opportunity for the organization and its oligarch to be written in Putin, a fan known to the MMA who had previously attended their programs.

Logistical problems, including security problems and bureaucratic paperwork layers, made the event impossible at the time. But the incident nevertheless stuck me as an example of the political current that crosses sport. This memory has become particularly relevant while US President Donald Trump announced his intention to organize an ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event in the White House to commemorate the country’s 250th anniversary next year.

Addressing a crowd of supporters at a Salute To America event in Iowa on Thursday, Trump said: “Does anyone watch the UFC? The big Dana White? We are going to have a UFC fight. We are going to have a UFC fight-Think-on the White House field. We have a lot of land there.”

The white house press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the news during the press briefing, adding that the president was “dead” about the organization of an UFC event at the official residence and at the president’s workplace.

The announcement is not surprising given Trump’s long -standing relationship with the UFC, the current owner Ari Emanuel and his CEO Dana White.

In recent years, Trump has frequently attended UFC events, rushing into the admiration of the young and male predominance. He cultivated relations with fighters, taking advantage of their support to present himself as a strong symbolic man. He kissed the culture of the challenge, machismo and the show of the UFC to help support his image of rebel against liberal standards. He also accelerated the replacement of American conventional political culture with a new abrasive mixture of entertainment and confrontation policy, perfectly embodied by Trump and White.

The CEO of the UFC perplexed for Trump in three national republican conventions and a series of campaign rallies over the past eight years. He traveled with the president on Air Force One and produced a propaganda documentary on Trump entitled Fighting in Chief. And when Trump won the 2024 presidential election, White went on stage to his victory party – because, naturally, Trump needed his combat promoter to conclude the agreement.

For the UFC, his association with Trump has granted the formerly denied promotion a new type of political legitimacy and influence. He also distinguishes it from other sports leagues through his shameless conservative posture. The UFC even sponsors the Semi-Principale of the United States nicknamed America 250, joining Amazon, Coca-Cola, Oracle and Walmart company.

Since his entry into office in January, Trump has attended two distinct UFC events. He recently attended UFC 316 in June only a few hours after signing a memo ordering the deployment of 2,000 national guard troops in the County of Los Angeles after the Ice Immigration Raids triggered mass demonstrations. However, he appreciated a standing ovation of the fans present and the brilliant approvals of the fighters, one of whom knelt even before Trump. UFC champion Kayla Harrison kissed her, kissing her cheek and wrapped her championship belt around her waist while her family and supporters looked with joy. It was a show adapted to the strong man that Trump imagines.

This is why Trump’s plan to organize an UFC event in the White House is perfectly logical. This is the natural culmination of a partnership in which the UFC has become the scene of Maga mythology. He carries nuances of fascist Italy under Benito Mussolini, in particular his obsession with masculinity, spectacle and nationalism – but with a modern American touch.

Fascist Italy has used rallies, parades and sporting events to project strength and unity. Sports, in particular combat sports, have been used as tools to cultivate Mussolini’s ideal masculinity and portray Italy as a strong and powerful nation. Likewise, Trump relied on the UFC to project his hard image and celebrate his nationalist masculinity brand. Breathtaking champions that approved him to suggest a tournament that would set up UFC fighters against illegal migrants, Trump has repeatedly found ways to make UFC style part of his political brand.

Since his return to functions in January, Trump’s presidency has been marked by a purge of federal agencies, repairs to dissent and immigration, and avoiding institutions formerly conceived as guardians against abuse in presidential power. Loyalty to Trump, rather than the Constitution and the American people, has become the main decisive test for political advancement. Meanwhile, sports have become a central characteristic of its administration, advancing its policies while projecting a cult of personality and the celebration of violence. These are the characteristics of authoritarianism.

There was once a time when the United States could indicate the authoritarian training of regimes like Mussolini Italy and claim at least a few Moral distance. This line is no longer visible. What was once the soft power borrowed from Strongmen is now proudly played on the United States’s own lawn.