I am a fight fan and a progressive. There are lots of us!
As a child, I read about Jack Johnson and Muhammad Ali. I can quote you every word from the first four Rocky Movies, as well as Creed 1 and Creed 3. I spent my 23rd birthday with my older brothers in Texas watching Manny Pacquiao dominate Joshua Clottey.
I remember the very first Ultimate Fighting Championship, long before Dana White created his current empire. I was lucky enough to become friends with Jon Jones, the greatest mixed martial arts fighter ever to live.
I have always admired the willpower, preparation and self-sacrifice involved in combat sports. Now there’s the 600-ton steel arena looming over the White House and ruins of the East Wing for the UFC bouts that took place this weekend on the South Lawn.
So, my political friends have been reaching out to find out more about mixed martial arts. And my mixed martial arts friends have been reaching out to learn more about politics. I’m here to help.
Why did this happen?
Well, dictators like to make themselves look strong by using mixed martial arts fighters as political theater. Trump likes to bask in the reflected glory of athletes, first responders and servicemembers. As journalist Karim Zidan has noted, Trump has a history of being seen at UFC matches “to bolster his popularity and divert attention from controversies and criminal convictions.”
And there’s the corruption of Trump and White’s mutually beneficial political and financial dealings, including Trump’s purchase of stock while promoting the White House fight.
There is a kind of cynical political brilliance to Trump’s embrace of the UFC. It’s a way for him to cosplay as a populist and make a cultural appeal to working-class men while doing nothing to make their lives better. It is also a way to draw lefty commentators into expressing contempt for the whole venture, so that MAGA pundits can portray so-called liberal elites as snobs who look down on real Americans.
The truth is that not all liberals are allergic to combat sport. The greatest boxer to ever live is known for his legacy of courageous racial justice and anti-war activism.
To people who aren’t familiar with them, UFC fights might seem like gladiators locked in no-holds-barred combat. But in reality, there are rules designed to keep fights fair and prevent fighters from being seriously or permanently injured.
I have been thinking about how those rules might apply to our public life, and how Trump and his administration’s rule-breaking is subjecting Americans to long-lasting harm.
First, there’s no eye poking or gouging, which could damage fighters’ ability to see. That would be like destroying decades of medical research, dismantling programs to monitor climate change and ocean life, firing people who fought the spread of infectious diseases and animal parasites — or replacing news operations with propaganda outlets.
Next, no low blows. Trump trying to extort $10 billion from taxpayers, then getting people who work for him to set up a $1.8 billion slush fund for his pals, felt like a kick below the belt.
There can be no strikes to the spine, which can cause catastrophic injury, like the harm to representative democracy from the Supreme Court conservative majority’s devastating blows to the Voting Rights Act.
There’s also no punching or kicking the throat, which could make it hard to breathe. Like easing up on clean air rules for power-hogging data centers or bullying energy companies to abandon wind power projects.
And no kicks or knees to the head of an opponent who is on the ground. This one makes me think of the sadistically cruel attacks on transgender people. Beyond bans on bathrooms and sports, beyond bans on healthcare for transgender youth, the administration takes one step after another to legally erase transgender people — and force schools, business and nonprofits to do the same. There’s a similarly relentless campaign of violence against vulnerable immigrants and their communities.
There’s no throwing an opponent out of the ring. Trump and his allies are trying to throw elections and unfairly hold onto power by keeping some people from voting.
Then there’s biting and spitting, but I’ll stop stretching the metaphor. UFC fights can be brutal, like the company’s treatment of its fighters. But there’s a system in place to ensure fair play.
Politics can also be brutal. But Trump doesn’t give a damn about fair play.
He engages in corruption on a previously unimaginable scale. He violates the law and attacks judges who defend it. He bullies legislators into rigging elections for his benefit. He uses intimidation and abuse of power to corrupt institutions that should protect Americans from people like him.
UFC fighters who break the rules can be suspended or disqualified. Democracy has its own referees, and many federal judges are doing their part to uphold the rule of law. Unfortunately, they are routinely undermined by the currently captured Supreme Court.
That leaves it up to us, the voters, to fight for fairness and elect leaders who will follow the rules that protect all of us. Midterms are months away. Get in the arena.
