Move Over, Nascar!
Why mixed martial arts is the true conservative sport.
By Arlen Delgado
January 25, 2012 4:00 A.M.
Dana White, president of Ultimate Fighter Championship
‘Cage fighting? Hmm, sorry, not my thing.” Such was my reaction when my sister and brother-in-law first suggested I watch a mixed martial arts (MMA) match. Despite my preconceived notions, I grudgingly agreed, and as I learned more about MMA and its largest organization, the UFC (Ultimate Fighter Championship), it became clear that this, folks, is the sport for conservatives. A bold claim, yes, but consider these five arguments:
1) It’s conservative philosophy manifested in a sport.
Watch any UFC fight. It is conservatism, capitalism at its core, illustrated through a sport. There are no unions here; there are no safety nets (literally, yes; figuratively, no); there are no multi-year contracts and no guarantees regardless of outcome; in an age where liberals strive to downplay differences between genders, it boldly glorifies the alpha-male and warrior mentality; there is no team — it is all focused on the individual and his personal responsibility (Ayn Rand would be front and center at a fight). Its essence: two men in an octagon. He who works and fights hardest comes out on top. In other words, American meritocracy in its purest form.
Indeed, the UFC’s tale is straight out of a capitalism storybook. A decade ago, Dana White, UFC’s president and the worldwide face of MMA, was a 32-year-old Las Vegas gym owner, trainer, and MMA-fighter manager. In 2001 he heard the bankrupt UFC was up for sale. (John McCain’s 1996 campaign against “human cockfighting” and various states’ bans had dried up much of the sport’s audience and venues.) Realizing mixed martial arts’ heretofore untapped potential, White phoned his childhood friend, Lorenzo Fertitta, of the successful casino-gaming family. Within one month, Lorenzo and his brother, Frank, formed Zuffa LLC along with Dana and purchased the UFC for a mere $2 million. They wisely invested another $44 million in it, as well as much hard work and brilliance, and the company is now worth an estimated $1 billion. Under Dana’s leadership, UFC broadcasts are now viewed in 155 countries and territories, in 22 languages, and in 500 million homes, making it the fastest-growing sport in the world. Six months ago, Fox signed a seven-year deal with the UFC, bringing matches to network television for the first time ever.
2) The UFC boasts a disproportionately high number of outspoken conservative fighters.
Though most celebrities, particularly professional athletes, shy away from publicizing their political views, such is not the case in MMA. On the contrary, the UFC has many outspoken conservatives. The most notable of these is one of the UFC’s biggest stars, Chael Sonnen, a staunch Republican who routinely voices his views, ran for public office, and once famously tweeted: “Please, FB nerds, no group has the strength to lynch me. I’m a Republican; we run on neither blood nor oxygen.” Others who have espoused conservative leanings include Chuck Lidell, Jacob Volkmann, Matt Lindland, Pat Miletich, Brian Stann, and Brock Lesnar.
While interviewing Chael Sonnen earlier this month, I asked why there are so many conservative fighters in MMA. Sonnen (who will fight on FOX this Saturday) explained: “Part of being a liberal is to not take a stand on anything. Part of being a liberal is to just say, ‘Yeah, do anything you want.’ It’s having no convictions, it’s not standing up, it’s not putting your foot down. It’s ‘Go with the flow and do what you want.’ And if you’re an MMA guy, you’re a tough guy; if you’re a tough guy, you generally have courage; and if you have courage, you’re not afraid to stand up and say, ‘This is wrong.’ And if you’re a person who’s willing to do that, for the most part, that makes you a conservative.”
While Dana White keeps his political views private, he provided a glimpse of them while blasting President Obama’s anti-business policies during a July 2011 appearance on Brian Kilmeade’s radio show (Kilmeade, of Fox & Friends, is an MMA fan). When asked what Washington can do to help boost the economy, White vented: “I have no idea what can be done other than — get somebody else in there! It’s scary right now what’s happening in this country. He [Obama] just came out recently, too, and talked about [how] the problem in this country is private airplanes. What?! The problem with this country is private airplanes? Everything this guy [Obama] says and attacks is an industry where people work and have money. . . This guy is anti-business. . . . This country is against building big business now! Which is insane!”
3) The UFC staunchly supports U.S. military personnel and veterans.
When has any professional athletic league or organization made it a point to openly and continuously support the U.S. military and its veterans? Well, the UFC does! In 2006, it held a special-event fight at the Marine Corps base in Miramar, Calif. All seats, save for five pairs of tickets auctioned to the public, were generously allotted to military personnel, and auction proceeds went to the Marine Corps Community Services Quality of Life Programs.
Subsequently, in collaboration with the renowned Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund (IFHF), the UFC began UFC: Fight for the Troops, a benefit fight and telethon of sorts for the military. The first of these special events, held at Fort Bragg, N.C., in 2008, raised $4 million for IFHF’s National Intrepid Center of Excellence, dedicated to the research and treatment of military personnel’s brain injuries. Indeed, IFHF notes they continue to receive funds to this day from individuals who learned of the cause due to the Fort Bragg fight.
A second UFC: Fight for the Troops, held last year at Fort Hood, Texas, raised $4.1 million for the Center. As Marty Edelman, trustee of the IFHF, notes: “The UFC have been our partners in this endeavor [the Center] from the beginning. They’re devoted to America’s troops, they come to these events, they help us create them, and we wouldn’t be doing this without them today.” (A third UFC: Fight for the Troops is likely to take place this year.) Additionally, as part of the UFC’s continued efforts to support the armed forces, it recently partnered with The Boot Campaign and The Lone Survivor Foundation. |
