The Saudi's Sphere of UFC influence on 9/11 week

Is a Francis Ngannou UFC return match a real possibility?

After Ari Emanuel’s UFC received a much-needed financial bailout sponsorship boost from Turki Alalshikh and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for UFC 306, it finally hit me like a ton of bricks:

This aging dog, who used to be a combat sports writer covering the circus inside and outside of the ring, is now a business and political writer who just happens to be covering something called Mixed Martial Arts.

I realize that this may sound like a distinction without a difference, but trust me — it’s still a shocking realization.

The UFC under Ari Emanuel is a political shop and a government contractor first and foremost. To deny that what we are covering isn’t a political machine would mean ignoring Mr. Emanuel’s recent public declarations in Aspen that President Joe Biden should drop out of the 2024 US Presidential campaign.

Mr. Emanuel — in The Economist — declared that Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer should be considered for the 2024 Democrat Party nomination.

Why would Mr. Emanuel feel as if he had the credibility — and the power — that voicing such a declaration would move the needle?

And wow, when Ari’s brother Zeke, a former advisor to the Biden Administration, piled on...

Well, it helps when you come from American political royalty. It also helps when you are the man in charge of a multi-billion dollar publicly-traded government contracting monster named TKO.

The Hollywood scribes who mocked Ari Emanuel for “cashing out” when Silver Lake took Endeavor back private got it all wrong. Ari’s power hasn’t decreased — it’s increased.

You don’t have to have great eyesight to see what Ari Emanuel’s vision is for both UFC & WWE. His vision and imprint have been made crystal clear in 2024 with massive government contracts, including the significant multi-show event package signed with the city of Indianapolis.

But there isn’t a greater example of political and financial influence peddling than the upcoming September 14th UFC event at the Sphere in Las Vegas. The event that was supposed to be highlighting and celebrating Mexican Independence Day will instead be celebrating the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia — Riyadh Season to be more precise — on the week of 9/11 tributes in the United States of America.

Ted DiBiase was the Million Dollar Man. Ari Emanuel is the Billion Dollar Man.

When Ari Emanuel needs a cash infusion, he either grabs a government contract or his team cuts a deal with a mega sponsor. It just so happens that some of today’s biggest sponsors and co-promoters in combat sports are world governments.

The price tag that comes with a political bailout is losing some business control over an event. That goes against anything and everything that the pre-Ari Emanuel UFC ever believed in. Under Mr. Emanuel, there are now occasional exceptions to the rule.

Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather changed Zuffa’s policy under Mr. Emanuel permanently. If the price is right, cut a deal and move on. Just tighten the strings on everyone else.

Hey, everyone has to have a cheat day on their diet, right?

Which brings us to the always tantalizing what could be scenario that is on the table when the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia gets involved in financing a combat sports venture.

The next two months will reveal a lot of cards that the Kingdom is holding in both boxing and Mixed Martial Arts. The upcoming August boxing event at BMO Stadium with Terence Crawford and the September Sphere mega-show present a possibility of the Kingdom becoming a major co-promoter for American fight events.

If the shows tank, there will be political fallout. But what if the shows succeed?