I was a super casual UFC watcher at best who hasn’t watched a fight since Lesnar was fighting, so I’m not really the best to talk on this but this would definitely be a dealbreaker for me. He’s the elected president, and it seems fair to say a majority of UFC fans are pro trump, so I get why they promote him there, but that’s just not something I wanna be a part of.
I completely agree, it’s part of the reason why I’m paying zero attention to it and WWE’s loose affiliation to him is one of a few reasons I’m not watching/monetarily supporting it either (just select clips, Review a Raw/PPVs and Rumbles/Manias)
It’s funny because my father, a Trump supporter, came at it from a different perspective the other morning. He asked me “Did you know Trump is a UFC fan?” To which I replied “I know he’s friends with Dana White, don’t know how much he actually knows about the sport.” To which my dad replied “Well, a guy who’s friends with Dana and Vince can’t be that bad.” I just kept my mouth shut.
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I don’t feel like I can speak to this question too much as I view myself more as a reporter on MMA than a fan of it (I find it a very interesting sport to cover but don’t know if I’d watch if I wasn’t covering it).
But I follow lots of folks who are on the left and watch the sport. One thing I’ve seen come up frequently is the idea that people don’t want to give into a sport’s changing politics and be forced out by it. The logic goes: This sport doesn’t want me here, but me leaving because of that is just giving them what they want.
I think that perspective is really interesting. I really do sympathize with people who have a huge passion for the sport but feel like they are not welcome because of their politics (or worse their identity, gender, sexuality, background, etc). It’s not necessarily fair to those people to say “Well, I get that you love this sport, but since it doesn’t love you, you should probably hit the road.”
^^ And to clarify I don’t think you folks are saying that. However, look in the replies of anyone who complains about Trump at events and you’ll see a comment similar to what is written above.
With that being said, I also entirely understand those who do leave because of it. MMA is, more than ever, a political vehicle. That’s more than enough reason for folks to stop watching.
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Excellent comment, and a great observation.
For me personally, I’m a less than casual MMA viewer. I watch some events, but mostly keep up with it through POST’s coverage. So it being a political vehicle isn’t gonna change much for me.
If the WWE goes that route, then it’s a different story, but I don’t see that happening. I did stop watching briefly during the pandemic after the Jamal Kashoggi murder and the WWEs deal with Saudi. So I have done it before with them, and I did return.
For full transparency I’ll also add that my fridge and my pantry are full of Prime hydration drinks, and this is fully well knowing what an incredible shithead Logan Paul is, and also me knowing his political stance which is complete opposite of mine. Problem is, the stuff is really really really good, it’s low calorie, it’s at Costco, and it got me off of a lifelong addiction to soda. I’m. So ultimately it may not matter to me in the long run if the product is something I can’t do without. Also it’s important that I stress this, fuck Logan Paul.
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The world is a complicated place. As people grow up we all have to find our own “line in the sand” and where we are comfortable in the grey.
How does anyone watch UFC if they aren’t a Trump supporter?
You could also ask:
How does anyone who didn’t vote for Trump stay in the USA?
How does anyone watch WWE considering its history with Trump?
How does anyone visit Chick-Fil-A when its owners support Trump?
How does anyone shop at Home Depot when its owners support Trump?
The answers will vary for everyone. For many the answer is that we are just trying to live our lives and find an entertaining distraction from boredom by watching UFC or WWE. Having a tasty snack at CFA. Or getting materials quickly for home renovation projects.
The difference though for UFC may be how prominent Trump is on their programming. Whereas WWE has mostly avoided Trump or the McMahon’s on TV.
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True, however if Donald Trump wants to attend a WWE PLE, he will be welcome with open arms, with full entrance, video package, the works.
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You’re probably right, but the majority of people aren’t going to react to hypotheticals. If you do, you should probably throw out just about every major U.S. sports franchise, which would almost definitely accommodate if Trump wanted to throw out the first pitch, do the coin toss, or whatever else.
Among other things, exit polls say that most men are Republicans. Should we stop supporting any TV show with a man involved, just in case he invites Trump to be on his show? National Exit Polls: Election 2024 Results
I’m not so sure about that. Not because of some moral reason, but I think WWE is aware that wrestling fans are much less likely to accept Trump then UFC fans, and I think trump is aware that he would likely be boo’d in most places.
I’m gonna push back on the idea that most men are Republicans. Exit polls only focus on voters, and much like past elections if “not voting” was a candidate then “not voting” would have won in a landslide. It’s definitely possible that those who are registered didn’t vote, but it’s far more likely that they did. I’d say most men don’t identify as Republican or Democrat.
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I think it’s important to point out that last time Vince was on television after the scandal, he was greeted with a overwhelmingly positive reaction from the crowd, either because they were unaware of the accusations or just didn’t care. So I think the same might apply to a Trump appearance.
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I wonder what would happen if Trump did show up, how would some talent react? I think that’s the biggest issue. I don’t think someone like Sami Zayn or Seth Rollins would be jumping for joy. Plus, due to the existence of bigger wrestling promotions in comparison to PFL or Bellator, they’re more likely to make more of a stink about it.
Some wrestlers won’t say anything but I think trying to make everyone happy in a post Vince era is something WWE is going to be more cognizant of.
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I don’t think the MMA fan base and wrestling audiences are slightly different.
I think WWE fan base leans more democratic than UFC for sure. They have less money in general as well.
UFC appeals more to a hyper aggressive male demographic with money. Maybe like a richer ECW crowd. WWE is much more family types.
For instance if you take single males they are more likely to be UFC fans than WWE fans for sure.
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I don’t know if WWE would do it in its current TKO/Haitch era. But I’m almost surprised it never happened in the Vince years. Remember: The first-ever Crown Jewel came WEEKS after Jamal Khashoggi was killed, a huge international political issue.
To add to what Alex said: I think a big cultural divider between wrestling and MMA is the masculinity factor. MMA is a hyper-masculine, “manosphere” NELK Boys/Adin Ross adjacent brand. While there are undoubtedly themes of masculinity in wrestling, I think that’s where the huge gap culturally is between the two scenes.
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Sorry I wasn’t doing a hypothetical, it was just me commenting on the above post about WWE not mentioning him.
I am wondering whether TKO and/or ESPN had any sort of blowback from UFC 309 that’s somewhat enough for someone to have a word about toning it down. I can imagine not wanting to burn any bridges, fan wise should all this Trump stuff go away.
Granted it’s something they would probably ignore and say screw them but I could see someone thinking ahead for possible scenarios
I’m from the UK and this is hypothetical but is he popular in L.A. because his ego would allow him to attend that 1st Raw on Netflix on January 6.
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TKO owns UFC and WWE
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Yes, but the brands have different identities, which is why it’s hard to tell what they would do. Apologies if how I worded it caused any confusion - my point was moreso trying to compare this current era to when Vince was in charge.
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That’s true, but Vince was also the owner then so nobody could stop him. Also, I really don’t think the majority of the crowd understood the scope of the accusations. If memory serves me right, all we knew at that time was that he paid off women with company money, not that he was accused of rape. I could be wrong though. I think trump gets bood out of the building at any wrestling show.
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