Beneath the spectacle of fighters beating each other bloody on the White House South Lawn, fight promoters, tech billionaires, and the Saudi government are working to concentrate wealth and power in fewer, richer hands.
The Super-Elite Is Tightening Its Grip on Combat Sports
https://jacobin.com/2026/06/ufc-freedom-trump-white-saudis
19 Comments
certified_expert@lemmy.world · 24 pts · 70d
"super-elite"
did you mean the "parasite class"?
ironycanal@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 0 pts · 69d
Explain the difference.
certified_expert@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 68d
Oh, no difference. I am just pointing out the correct name for that group
alexc@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 70d
They can have them. Always found boxing/mma/ufc/etc pretty pointless. It’s just the glorification of violence.
therealdries@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 7 pts · 70d
So that's boxing, american football, ice hockey, rugby, wrestling (all kinds), all martial arts and even fencing we have to leave to the reactionaries.
Squizzy@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 70d
I dont back this guy but you are including sports thst do not require violence
therealdries@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 2 pts · 70d
They did not say "requires violence" - they said "glorifies violence." All the sports I mentionded can easily be accused of that.
Squizzy@lemmy.world · 0 pts · 70d
I disagree, dodging is a massive of part of boxing no doubt but the game is boxing and the goal is knockout.
Rugby has hits and tackles but they are not particularly violent or vicious, though there are obviously outliers. That said a great game of rugby could be played without any major hits. The game used the prioritise agility and speed and while it still does the game syle has switched to bigger players making big hits. A team of ultra fast strong agile players could make a serious go against a team of heavy hitters.
therealdries@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 2 pts · 70d
You're absolutely correct - there's absolutely nothing violent about punching somebody in the face in any way whatsoever.
Clyde, listen to me very carefully... you're talking to someone who grew up in a fascist country obsessed with rugby. They didn't fetishise it because it promotes peace - get it?
Squizzy@lemmy.world · -1 pts · 70d
You completely missed the point because you wanted to be snide.
therealdries@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 1 pts · 70d
No. I think you are the one that missed the point - right from the outset.
alexc@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 69d
That’s quite the reductive assertion you have there… Why stop with your list? Aren’t all sports fundamentally a preparation for war?
Cage fighting feels different. In all the other sports, yes, violence does occur, but in cage fighting the violence is the product. I am sure it’s only a matter of time before Trump or some other rich fuck sits ringside and at the end of a bout points his thumb downward… The man wants to be Caesar, we get it.
it’s wrong on the WH lawn and it probably should be banned on medical grounds, too.
therealdries@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 2 pts · 69d
Perhaps they are... I never said that this was necessarily a bad thing. After all... peace does not work on fascists nor their liberal handlers.
If we're going to do that boxing, rugby and american football should be up for the chop, too - even professional wrestling. You do understand what the term "punch drunk" means, right?
alexc@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 69d
I do know what punch-drunk means. And yes, this may need to be a discussion. The mark of a functioning society is that as new information comes in, we learn from it and change.
If that means we have to talk about banning (American) football and even (English) Football, sure. Before that there’s be a discussion about what changes could be made, which is why English football is talking about stopping players from “heading” the ball. It would change the game, sure, but it would also stop ex-players from early senility, which seems to happen too often.
Now apply that same logic to cage fighting… There’s not much left of it is there?
therealdries@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 2 pts · 69d
Same can be said about boxing.
Look... this isn't really about the activity itself. It's really about the propaganda surrounding it. For comparison, think about how the Apartheid-regime used rugby to promote white supremacism and weaponised masculinity.
Eheran@lemmy.world · -1 pts · 70d
Oh it is pointless to you so just fuck with them? I have a very fitting quote for you and those who think like that:
First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
—Martin Niemöller
alexc@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 69d
I’m not apathetic about this. It shouldn’t be happening on the White House lawn.
In fact, I don’t think Cage Fighting should be anywhere. I mean, it’s banned for animals, right?
reallykindasorta@slrpnk.net · 7 pts · 70d
UFC was never a proper tournament (fighters are chosen by admin not by a regimented competition scheme) but now that it lives under the WWE umbrella everyone should receive it as a spectacle and not a sport anyway.
forgetfulmeat@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 70d
It's a shame because I absolutely love MMA but hate UFC. Unfortunately they have the best talent and I feel torn on it. Lately I've been keeping up with the regional scene more than UFC. At least I can afford the front row seats at these events.