Combat sports analyst Luke Thomas joined The Bulwark podcast to break down what he views as a deeply political relationship between the Trump administration and the UFC, one he says is now culminating in an event planned for the White House grounds.
Thomas framed the situation as having two different layers. On one hand, he acknowledged the genuine symbolic importance of such an event within the MMA community, especially given the sport’s turbulent past.
“For a sport that had a really hard time getting regulated, that nearly went away completely, the ability to say, ‘Hey, we’re in the White House. This means something to us. We have ascended,’” he explained, pointing to how far MMA has come in terms of legitimacy.
However, he was equally direct about what he believes is driving the event politically. “The other side is like, why is this event happening at all?” he said. “And the answer is this is the reward from the Trump administration to the UFC for what can only be described as their unique contributions to keeping him out of prison. There’s really no other way to say that.”
He went further, characterizing the nature of that “reward.” “It is sportswashing of the highest order,” Thomas said. “It is a political reward in giving them something that he gave them. A mainstream sport that was really hot during that portion of the pandemic putting all their chips in on a guy.”
He continued by emphasizing how valuable that exposure was: “You can’t buy political coverage like that. You can’t make a rally be anything like that. It is something that is literally not even available for purchase. This is the return to them for that.”
Thomas also reiterated a point he has made before about the UFC’s role in shaping public perception of Donald Trump during politically and legally challenging periods. “There is no private actor that I can think of during the Biden years and in the 2024 election that did more to rehabilitate Donald Trump’s image than the UFC,” he said. “They laundered him completely.”
At the same time, Thomas cautioned against dismissing the situation as mere spectacle or incompetence. “A lot of folks make an idiocy argument about this, which I understand, the optics kind of lend itself,” he said. “It is a gigantic mistake to look at these people and think, ‘Oh, this is idiocracy.’ It might look that way and maybe they say stuff that makes you feel that way, but these people are not screwing around. They’re highly skilled operators, and their ability to manage these channels of power I think speaks to that.”
He also tied the proposed White House event to a pattern of what he described as transactional dealings between TKO Group Holdings and the Trump administration, including legislation moving through Congress that he claims could consolidate monopolistic control in combat sports.
Thomas further noted the role of Saudi investment in the boxing side of TKO’s business. Additionally, Thomas framed the situation in terms of accountability. “You, year after year after year, of trying to make sure this guy got in the public eye and to rehabilitate him during the Jack Smith indictments, during the trial in New York City, during Jan 6 stuff,” he said. “And they went out of their way to lift him at that time. You’re on the hook for what comes next.”
