Welcome to Sports Politika, a media venture founded by investigative journalist and researcher Karim Zidan that strives to help you understand how sports and politics shape the world around us. Our mission is to offer an independent platform for accessible journalism that raises awareness and empowers understanding.

If you share this vision, please consider supporting us by joining our community and becoming a paid subscriber.

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On January 6, 2021, as Congress convened to certify Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election, a large crowd of Trump supporters gathered for a rally near the U.S. Capitol, where then-President Trump urged them to contest the election results and “fight like hell.”

Chaos ensued. Fuelled by Trump’s words, the crowd overran police barricades and breached the Capitol building, resulting in violent clashes with law enforcement. Five people were killed in the resulting riots, including a Capitol police officer. The attack was ultimately unsuccessful in preventing the certification of the election results and resulted in widespread condemnation across the political spectrum. Even Trump faced a historic second impeachment and increased scrutiny over his role in inciting the violence.

In the months that followed, Trump found a sanctuary in the UFC, which became a powerful platform for his return to the public eye. UFC events gave Trump the opportunity to appear before large, conservative-leaning crowds, where he was often greeted with applause and cheers. This consistent visibility at UFC events allowed Trump to recast himself as a popular, resilient figure amid the backlash from January 6, and played a significant role in salvaging his image among his base in the lead-up to the 2024 election.

In this final episode on In The Red Corner, we focus on the aftermath of Jan. 6, and the ongoing loyalty the UFC and many of its fighters continue to show toward Trump, even as his controversies and legal battles continue to mount. We look at how the UFC, through its fighters and its public stance, has become more than just an ally—it’s a potent symbol of Trump’s MAGA movement.

But it goes even deeper. This episode also sheds light on the rise of the far-right fight clubs that have sprung up in response to this political climate. Inspired by UFC culture and MAGA rhetoric, these groups take combat sports beyond the cage, training for ideological battles and civil wars that they believe are on the horizon.

You can listen to this episode in the player above, or wherever you get your podcasts. And if you missed the first two episodes, you can play them below.

In The Red Corner was created by Karim Zidan and Elie Bleier and is available on all major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. You can also listen using the embed above or through the Substack app.

If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to rate and review us on your favourite podcast platform. It goes a long way in making sure this labour of love reaches as many listeners as possible.

While you’re at it, consider becoming a paid subscriber to Sports Politika for $5 a month. Your support will ensure that we can continue to produce high quality audio programming and investigative reporting.

Welcome to Sports Politika, a media venture founded by investigative journalist and researcher Karim Zidan that strives to help you understand how sports and politics shape the world around us. Our mission is to offer an independent platform for accessible journalism that raises awareness and empowers understanding.

If you share this vision, please consider supporting us by joining our community and becoming a paid subscriber.

Subscribe now

In July 2016, UFC President Dana White took the stage at the Republican National Convention and delivered a fiery speech that saw him endorse Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.

Over the course of four minutes, White boasted about Trump’s loyalty and work ethic. He praised the candidate’s business savvy and rehashed the tale of Trump’s magnanimous support for the UFC during the organization’s dark age.

“Trump is a fighter and I know he will fight for this country,” White told the crowd.

White’s endorsement of Trump did not end there. The UFC head honcho, along with a select group of prominent UFC fighters, have spent the past few years campaigning for Trump while reshaping the organization as a haven for conservatives, right-wing influencers and MAGA ideologues alike. Furthermore, Trump have become a regular presence at UFC events, further cementing the organization as a platform for his MAGA ideology.

This is the focus of the second episode of In The Red Corner, a three-part audio series about the UFC, Trump, and the violent politics that unite them.

In the first episode of In The Red Corner, we explored the UFC's early days and discussed the role Trump played in its success. In this episode, we look back at Trump's rise in U.S. politics, and the role the UFC played in making his MAGA ideology a reality.

We'll delve into how UFC champions followed the organization’s lead in helping solidify Trump’s popularity among fans and fighters alike. And we’ll examine how the UFC’s billion-dollar sale further fuelled the organization's shift toward MAGA politics.

You can listen to this episode in the player above, or wherever you get your podcasts. And if you missed the first episode, you can play it below.

In The Red Corner was created by Karim Zidan and Elie Bleier and is available on all major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. You can also listen using the embed above or through the Substack app.

If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to rate and review us on your favourite podcast platform. It goes a long way in making sure this labour of love reaches as many listeners as possible.

While you’re at it, consider becoming a paid subscriber to Sports Politika for $5 a month. Your support will ensure that we can continue to produce high quality audio programming and investigative reporting.

Welcome to Sports Politika, a media venture founded by investigative journalist and researcher Karim Zidan that strives to help you understand how sports and politics shape the world around us. Our mission is to offer an independent platform for accessible journalism that raises awareness and empowers understanding.

If you share this vision, please consider supporting us by joining our community and becoming a paid subscriber.

Subscribe now

In May 2024, Donald Trump became the first former U.S. president to be convicted on felony charges. And, two days later, he made an unexpected first public appearance at a UFC event.

Trump entered the arena flanked by secret service agents. Kid Rock’s “American Badass” played in the background. The crowd chanted his name, and, also, “Fuck Joe Biden”. And UFC President Dana White was by his side the entire time.

Now you would think that it would be politically risky for the UFC to host the former president, just days after he became a felon, and in the middle of his rollercoaster 2024 campaign.

But Trump and the UFC, they go way back. 

In this first episode of In The Red Corner, a three-part audio series on the UFC, Trump, and the violent politics that unite them, I’m going to take you back to the UFC’s inception, and explain how Trump gave the UFC legitimacy as politicians tried to shut it down.

At least, that’s how the lore goes…

In The Red Corner was created by Karim Zidan and Elie Bleier and is available on all major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcast, and Spotify. You can also listen using the embed above or through the Substack app.

If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to rate and review us on your favourite podcast platform. It goes a long way in making sure this labour of love reaches as many listeners as possible.

While you’re at it, consider becoming a paid subscriber to Sports Politika for $5 a month. Your support will ensure that we can continue to produce high quality audio programming and investigative reporting.

Welcome to Sports Politika, a media venture founded by investigative journalist and researcher Karim Zidan that strives to help you understand how sports and politics shape the world around us. Our mission is to offer an independent platform for accessible journalism that raises awareness and empowers understanding.

If you share this vision, please consider supporting us by joining our community and becoming a paid subscriber.

Subscribe now

Several months ago, my friend and talented podcast producer Elie Bleier approached me with an idea for a three-part audio series about Donald Trump, his relationship with the UFC, and the violent politics that unite them. His idea became the basis for Sports Politika’s first audio original series: In The Red Corner.

The series take you back to 2001, back when the UFC was struggling financially and had a tarnished reputation. At the time, few venues were willing to host the organization’s events due to the sport's “human cockfighting” image. Trump, however, saw potential in the UFC and allowed them to host events at his Atlantic City properties, including the Trump Taj Mahal, providing a critical lifeline for the fledgling organization. His support helped the UFC gain legitimacy, which eventually paved the way for its mainstream success.

Over the years, Trump and UFC President Dana White maintained a strong relationship, with White publicly endorsing Trump during his presidential campaigns and Trump attending several UFC events as a special guest. Their alliance reflects a shared ethos of defying establishment norms and capitalizing on the appeal of spectacle and entertainment.

No other American sports league has invested as much time and effort as the UFC has in promoting Trump. The alarming trend of UFC fighters and officials campaigning for the former president – including spreading propaganda and disinformation – emphasizes how the promotion has embraced its role as the sports arm of Trump’s political ideology.

So how did the UFC become entangled in MAGA politics? And why does this matter now? This is what In The Red Corner attempts to answer.

Over the course of three episodes, we’re going to unpack the relationship between Trump and the UFC. In this first episode, I’m going to take you back to the league’s inception, and explain how Trump gave the UFC legitimacy as politicians tried to shut it down. In the second episode, I’ll show how the UFC helped Trump’s presidential campaigns, and how Trump tapped championship fighters to help boost his allure.

Then, in our final episode, we’ll discuss what MMA had to do with the January 6th capital insurrection, and how in its wake the UFC still doubled down on Trump, and rehabilitated his image running up to this current election.

In the Red Corner is an audio original series created by Karim Zidan and Elie Bleier. The series will be available on all major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcast and Spotify, starting next week.

Sports Politika is a media platform dedicated to the intersection of sports, power and politics. If you like what you see, upgrade to a paid subscription (or gift a subscription if you already have your own). We would appreciate if you could also like the post and let us know what you think in the comment section below.