Fuck UFC 250, Boycott the UFC
I don't give a shit a bout any of this.
So I’ve been watching MMA for 20 years now (god I’m getting old) and I have a lot of personal views on what is about to take place this weekend.
You’ve probably read Jess’ piece, which is good. I don’t intend to do a fight by fight analysis.
You probably have already read Carl’s piece, which is also good. I don’t intend to do a breakdown of how we got here (at least all too much).
I am just going to rant and try to get across the point that you should just boycott the ever living shit out of the UFC.
But first, I have a real quick question for you.
Remember when Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem as a silent form of protesting against police violence specifically aimed at black youths in the US?
Remember how he was told to just shut up and actually he’s being very anti-American by doing that?
Remember how he was, through no fault of his own athletic performance, forced out of the NFL for such a “politically divisive” act?
Remember when a Christian nationalist conspiracy theorist host on Fox News told other non-white athletes to just shut up and play sports because they dared to speak up on political and social issues?
Remember the number of times we were told to “keep politics out of sports” by people who actively endorsed and showcased politicians they favored?
Yeah anyway forget about that, because as was the case at the time, they do not actually believe any of it.
Which is now how we have UFC at the White House.
U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!
To celebrate the 250th anniversary of America’s breaking off from the British Empire to form its own equally destructive and harmful empire, the world is going to be subjected to a UFC event that US tax money is paying for to serve as a political prop for the current administration.
The same UFC and administration who spent every opportunity they got whining about how sports shousld be free from politics now really want us to watch a sporting event designed to pretend it is to celebrate a nation’s founding, but in practice serves as yet another edition of sportswashing for a politician.
Which, you know, is an entirely political act.
When not busy shooting Americans in the street, supporting and enabling multiple genocides concurrently, and randomly starting a war because their genocidal buddy wanted to, the current government administration and the UFC have worked for the past year to put on the amazingly mundane event titled UFC Freedom 250.
This is a company worth several billion dollars by the way.
Billions of dollars. With a “B”.
And all they could dribble out was “UFC Freedom 250.”
Scott Coker could do better.
As mentioned by Jessica, this isn’t even taking place anywhere close to the actual nation’s founding day.
Because that is how you celebrate America, by not caring about the actual date your nation was founded on.
“But, why?”, you may ask.
To which I respond: “Have you not paid attention?”
This has been planned to coincide with the current administration’s fixation on celebrating America and somehow tying a convicted rapist of a President, to the idea of “America” in the minds of everyone. In such a naked and blatant way that even an idiot like Bryce Mitchell would recognize. Trump tried to cash in on the NBA finals earlier this week and was, hilariously, boo’d so badly the response by his sycophantic dweebs was to recreate that Simpson’s scene.
Look, this whole spectacle is just another example of American-exceptionalism and arrogance.
While people are starving from SNAP benefits being cut, medical insurance being stripped away, the aforementioned outright murder of non-violent protestors by federal agents, rapists overseeing detainees in ICE facilities, and a newly created “Fuck You” war that has caused energy prices to shoot up around the world with no end in sight, American tax dollars are going towards hosting an invite only UFC event for the current administration and their friends.
Oh and for some added insult to injury, they’re offering a $1.5 million “partner investor” ticket for the event. Which, again, is being ran on tax payer money and on tax payer property. Remember, The White House belongs to the people and not these schmucks.
So what does this stupidly overpriced “investment” get you? Well you get to attend the UFC Freedom 250 reception party, which seems to imply there’s some degree of pay to play access with high access people within or adjacent to the current administration. So…probably a degree of corruption there.
Oh you also get access to reserved seating at the UFC Freedom 250 press conference. Because I guess watching people call each other various insults for an hour is worth that price of admission. I went to one of those for free for Diaz vs Henderson.
You also get access to the ceremonial weigh-ins, but its for the general admission section so again, lmao at this not being a blatant form of bribery.
Finally, you also get access to floor tickets at UFC 329 which is a month later and in Las Vegas. Oh also, ironically, UFC 329 is closer to July 4th than UFC Freedom 250 is. Which sort of tells you how stupid this whole event is.
$1.5 million dollars for all of…that.
Oh and just a reminder, based on the UFC’s antics throughout their history, that the money gained from these exclusive ticket sales will most assuredly not be going towards the fighter’s pockets at all.
Sure, they’ll talk about how they’re losing money. But they also don’t include any mention of this shit show being on a paid streaming service that they got a $7.7 billion dollar deal out of to put on half assed shows at the Meta Apex. No no, $30 million is all they want you to focus on.
Now, none of this is out of the blue. Dana White, and by extension the UFC, has long been an avenue to openly promote, support, and praise extremist right wing politicians organizing this. White himself spoke at the 2016 and 2020 Republican National Conventions despite all that whining about politics getting into sports.
The UFC put together a “we love Donald Trump so much, and actually he is why UFC exists” propaganda video for UFC Fight Pass during his first administration. Which then was taken down after the January 6th domestic terror attack on the Capitol when they were authorizing the 2020 election results, which their hero lost. It’s OK, they put it back up pretending that the domestic terrorism committed at Trump’s behest never happened.
However as the winds of pissed off people blow in their direction and as scrutiny of the White House card intensifies, the UFC’s figurehead is insisting that divergent political views shouldn’t drive fans away from the sport. The thing he actively did for the past decade.
He also doesn’t care if we watch or not so fuck him and fuck this attempt at trying to appease angry fans.
Let’s Just Boycott This Shit
I’ve wasted enough of your time so let’s just say it. Let’s boycott this stupid event. Seriously.
Go watch something else, literally anything else. Here, want a video game recommendation that’s going to be more worthwhile? Go play WrestleQuest. It’s a fantastic game and actually showcases something called “personality and charm.”
Don’t like that? OK well I’m playing Octopath Traveler II and it’s amazing, so you could just get that and play it all weekend.
In fact, let’s just all agree to boycott the UFC as a whole. Especially Carl Cohen who needs a break from the psychic damage he inflicts himself with each week.
Go watch RIZIN or PFL. There aren’t many MMA organizations that are good, because let’s be honest no company is ever capable of being good. However, I can only name one that actively promotes a convicted rapist whose authoritarianism has led to a pointless war that kicked off by bombing a school full of children, and then shit talked the Pope for saying that war is bad.
The politicians organizing it don’t care about the fans. They actively call anyone who they don’t like subhuman and fantasize about their deaths on the regular.
The UFC doesn’t care about its ethical responsibility as a business, let alone their own individual morals. They actively involved themselves and their fighters, both domestic and international, with Ramzan Kadyrov, a literal war criminal who is sanctioned by the US Government.
The UFC doesn’t care about the fans either. They actively platform people who go on bigoted rants on their broadcast and just shrug and say “maybe if you pay us you can see him get KO’d once.”
The UFC doesn’t care about their fighters. They actively try not to pay them a decent wage while pocketing all the money for themselves.
The UFC doesn’t even care about putting effort into making their creative content with their shift to using “AI” made “music”, poster designs, and commercials. Telling people who don’t like it to “just shut the fuck up” when they point out how shitty it looks and sounds.
Simply put, the UFC do not care about how terrible their product has become because they no longer need to sell you on watching the event. As Carl has painstakingly noted each month for several years now, the UFC’s business model is now based around getting a bag for X number events per year and as long as they meet that lone requirement they make their money. The incentive to put on a show you feel was worth your time and money is gone. Welcome to the Dana White Slop League era of sports.
So, I repeat my “fuck you” earlier, and I think you should also join me in saying that.
Stop putting up with the UFC’s shit.
