The relationship between mixed martial arts and right-wing politics has taken another concrete turn. According to a Washington Post report, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) plans to spend $100 million this year on recruitment campaigns targeting specific demographics, including UFC fans, as the agency seeks deportation officers for the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda.
The 30-page document detailing ICE’s “surge hiring marketing strategy” reveals the agency is using geo-targeting and demographic analysis to reach audiences most likely to respond positively to recruitment messaging. Among the prime targets: people who attend UFC match, listen to patriotic podcasts, or show interest in guns and tactical gear.
Luke Thomas, political commentator and MMA analyst, talked about this in a recent podcast episode. He argues this development confirms what he’s been saying for years: the UFC and MMA have become vectors for right-wing politics. “The only people who cannot understand this are either those who lack basic reasoning and basic critical reasoning skills or people who are just so blinded by their own partisanship that they cannot recognize what is in front of them,” Thomas stated on his show.
ICE isn’t just placing advertisements. The strategy includes boots on the ground at major events. The agency set up a recruitment booth at NASCAR’s Cookout Southern 500 in South Carolina last August, hosted a gym-based recruitment event with influencer-style content at UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas in November, and planned a sponsorship focused on “patriotism, strength, and grit” at the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas.
The pattern is clear: ICE is targeting sports with predominantly right-leaning audiences. NASCAR, rodeo, and UFC share what Thomas calls “right-wing coding,” attracting demographics more aligned with conservative politics than sports like the NBA, WNBA, or MLS.
Thomas emphasizes that whether UFC CEO Dana White or other UFC executives hold personal political beliefs is irrelevant. “What matters is what changes you have helped usher into the world And one more time, MMA is a right-wing sport now. It hasn’t necessarily always been that way or not always in the way that it is now, but it certainly is now. And the UFC itself
specifically is a vector for right-wing politics,” he said.
The UFC’s $7.7 billion Paramount deal and its current position in the sports landscape cannot be understood without recognizing its connections to the current administration and its role in promoting right-wing causes.
The recruitment campaign represents what Thomas sees as the natural consequence of choices made by UFC leadership. By aligning with particular political forces and providing platforms for campaign surrogates, the organization has cultivated an audience that government agencies now view as fertile ground for recruitment into controversial policy initiatives.
For those who’ve watched UFC events recently, ICE advertisements have already been visible during broadcasts. Thomas stated, “If you’ve watched UFC events, you’ve actually already seen ICE ads being a part of it,” This signals the agency’s ongoing effort to reach this specific fanbase.
