Dana White, Donald Trump and the Rise of Cage-Match Politics

The Daily

The New York Times

Daily News, News

4.4 • 102.1K Ratings

🗓️ 2 January 2025

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Warning: this episode contains strong language. Over the past five years, one sports league has gained popularity faster than any other: Ultimate Fighting Championship, or U.F.C. Matt Flegenheimer, a correspondent for The Times, discusses the man behind the league and how his longtime friendship with President-elect Donald J. Trump has transformed what once was a fringe sport into a culture and political powerhouse. Guest: Matt Flegenheimer, a correspondent at The New York Times who focuses on in-depth profiles of powerful figures.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, it's Sabrina. Before we get started, a few details about a major developing story that's still being pieced together. According to investigators, in the early hours of Wednesday morning, an armed man driving a rented pickup truck, deliberately plowed into a crowd celebrating New Year's Eve in New Orleans, killing at least 15 people and injuring dozens more.
0:24.2	In a short speech last night,
0:26.4	President Biden said that the driver, a U.S. Army veteran who died during the attack,
0:31.3	had been inspired by the Islamic State
0:33.6	and had expressed a clear desire to kill.
0:37.7	Investigators said that they are still trying to determine whether he had acted alone
0:41.4	or had any help from individuals or a group.
0:44.6	These are the key facts we know for now.
0:47.0	We'll be following developments over the next few hours and we'll bring them to you as soon as we can.
0:51.8	Okay, here's today's show.
1:03.0	This is daily producer Olivia Nat. I am in Las Vegas outside an arena where tonight there is going to be a UFC championship fight. I am notoriously squeamish, so I'm really
1:10.2	excited to talk to people about why they like this sport, why they're here tonight, and I'm going to go talk to some of them.
1:20.6	It is a microphone. Do you have a couple of minutes to answer some questions?
1:23.6	Oh, hell yeah. Yeah, let's get some questions going. Let's get some questions going.
1:29.3	Why are you guys here tonight?
1:30.3	What do you like about watching fights?
1:32.3	The combat is...
1:34.3	Oh, love it.
1:36.3	Like you never know, it's two men in a cage.
1:38.3	It's man versus man.
1:39.3	Beasts versus beast.
1:41.3	I really enjoy the special moments where people like get knocked out.
	...

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