In downtown Los Angeles, more than 19,000 fans packed the Crypto.com Arena recently to witness a night of high-intensity mixed martial arts competition under the banner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). The event, held in the same venue that hosts the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers and major pop concerts, set a record for event revenue, generating over $8 million. Predominantly male attendees watched fighters engage in fiercely physical bouts marked by blood and injury.
The UFC, the leading organisation in mixed martial arts (MMA), permits a range of combat techniques beyond traditional boxing—allowing strikes with fists, elbows, kicks, and submission holds on both standing and grounded opponents. Matches frequently conclude via knockouts or injuries severe enough to incapacitate competitors.
What sets recent UFC events apart is the high-profile and politically connected attendance surrounding the cage. Celebrities ranging from Courtney Kardashian and musician Travis Barker to filmmaker James Cameron have been spotted ringside alongside influential figures such as billionaire property developer Rick Caruso, podcaster Theo Von, streamer N3on, and occasionally technology leaders including Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk. Among the regular attendees is former President Donald Trump, a vocal UFC fan who has further popularised the sport by featuring a fight cage on the White House lawn during his 80th birthday celebrations.
This intersection of celebrity, politics, and sport reflects the UFC’s transformation from a marginal and contentious spectacle into a major commercial and cultural phenomenon. Thirty years ago, UFC events struggled to find broadcast partners, as leading networks and venues largely rejected it due to its violent nature. ESPN executive Mark Shapiro recalled that at the time “ESPN and Disney wouldn’t touch it,” underscoring the widespread resistance to airing such content. Today, however, UFC fights command multi-billion-dollar broadcasting deals, including with Paramount, and foreign governments actively offer financial incentives to host UFC events.
Dana White, UFC’s chief executive, actively shares graphic images from fights to social media, demonstrating the unabashed brutality of the sport. One recent match featured a fighter competing with an exposed thumb bone, visibly splintered and bloody. The visceral violence has become part of UFC’s brand identity, which has both fascinated audiences and drawn criticism.
Not all political figures involved are personal fans. A longtime Trump associate acknowledged discomfort with the sport’s raw physicality, describing it as “pretty brutal.” Still, for some, political invitations to UFC events create opportunities that are difficult to decline.
The UFC’s rise reflects a broader cultural alignment with a spectacle that combines physical combat, celebrity fascination, and political symbolism. Observers note parallels with historical precedents where rulers used violent displays as a means to project power and engage closely with the public. This dynamic has helped position UFC as a defining sporting and cultural fixture of the Trump era, blending entertainment with political strategy aimed at engaging a predominantly young, male demographic.