One of the last decent Republican senators, John McCain, once characterized the UFC as “human cockfighting.” Decency had nothing to do with Sunday’s tacky and tawdry spectacle at the White House. I wrote this post before the event. I have no interest in the fakakta cage fight: It’s the corruption, stupid.

Guess how the fighters were paid?

The UFC said some fighters will receive bonuses in World Liberty Financial crypto called “stablecoins”, whose value is pegged to the US dollar. World Liberty named the currency “USD1”.

 

World Liberty is a venture of the Trump family and the family of Steven Witkoff, Trump’s friend and special envoy to the Middle East. The company is now listed as an “official sponsor” of UFC Freedom 250, the fight scheduled for Sunday. The use of its stablecoin in the fight would appear to boost efforts to have it used more broadly.”

Stablecoin sounds like Trump’s infamous coinage of himself as a stable genius. This time, he’s not just horsing around, he’s executive mansion producing a $60 million spectacle that reduces the people’s house to a stage set for grown men to beat the shit out of one another. I’m with McCain on the whole UFC thing.

Unlike other pundits, I’m NOT comparing this to Mike Judge’s movie, Idiocracy. I dislike repeating myself and I’ve already compared Team Trump to that fine film in a post from February 2026: Putting The Id In Idiocracy.

Others have compared this sad spectacle unfavorably to the Roman Empire’s bread and circus extravaganzas staged at the OG stadium, the Colosseum. Been there, done that in April 2025: Quo Vadis On The Potomac.

Repeat after me: It’s Not The Cage Fight, It’s The Corruption, Stupid.

I’m usually critical of fellow LSU alum James Carville but he coined a phrase I frequently riff on: It’s The Economy, Stupid. I did it last week and I’m doing it again.

UFC caudillo Dana White is in bed with the Kaiser of Chaos both politically and financially. Imagine the furor if this guy had been one of Bill Clinton’s kitchen cabinet:

That’s right, boxing promoter Don King is a Trump fan. They have much in common both are major assholes and convicted felons with weird hair.

In a profile of Dana White, The Guardian compared him to Don King:

White has become the most recognizable carnival barker in American life since Don King. Unlike King, however, his influence extends well beyond the realm of the fight game. Over the past decade, White has evolved from sports executive into something rarer: a cultural power broker, political surrogate, Meta board member and one of Trump’s most trusted advisers.”

I beg to differ on one point. Donald Trump is the most recognizable carnival barker in American life since Don King. That’s why the UFC has been allowed to take over the White House grounds. It’s allegedly to celebrate America’s 250th Anniversary, in reality it’s to gratify the Insult Comedian’s ego and to celebrate his 80th birthday. 43 past presidents weep: Tricky Dick is envious of Trump’s chutzpah.

I dig Jamelle Bouie’s pregame comments on the event:

To put the country and its people at the forefront of the occasion is to honor the democratic spirit of the founding of the United States. To put oneself at the forefront, as Trump has, is to discount and strip away that democratic content.

 

Sunday’s U.F.C. fight is not just a garish spectacle; it is an expression of the president’s contempt for the ritual and symbolism of American democracy — which is just another way to say, his contempt for democracy itself.”

The Kaiser of Chaos has also stripped away any pretense of caring about the economic struggles of the American people who increasingly realize our economic woes are the result of Trumps’ tariffs and war in Iran. His support among working class white voters is starting to collapse except among the most besotted MAGA maggots. It’s what happens when you say shit like, “I love the inflation.”

A normal president would have taken credit for the Biden economy instead of pushing policies guaranteed to damage the economy. President Pennywise has gone from “Only I can fix it” to “Only I can fuck it up.”

Repeat after me: Donald Trump is a fuck up.

The UFC mishigas is small beer compared to some of the Trump circle’s other grifting but it’s emblematic of the rampant corruption of Trump 2.0. The tagline for a recent piece by the New Yorker’s John Cassidy says it all:

The President’s stock dealing, $1.8-billion “anti-weaponization” slush fund, and grant of immunity from the I.R.S. demonstrate the need for major ethics reforms.”

One more time: It’s Not The Cage Fight, It’s The Corruption, Stupid.

Team Gamaliel’s Teapot Dome Scandal was a tempest in a, uh, teapot compared to Team Trump’s big steal but I dig historical analogies as much if not more than the next guy. That’s why the last word goes to Fletcher Henderson: