The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s brewing labor crisis is in focus as the star-studded card many envisioned for Donald Trump’s White House UFC event dims.
Trump is planning to host several UFC fights on the White House lawn later this year as part of his self-aggrandizing — and potentially self-enriching — celebration of the United States’ 250th anniversary. The UFC fights are being hosted on June 14, which is also Trump’s 80th birthday, as part of a corporate-backed program called Freedom 250, which Democrats fear may be used as a slush fund for Trump or his associates.
Some people interested in watching this had hoped for a card filled with household names, such as Conor McGregor, Ronda Rousey or Jon Jones, perhaps. But those hopes appear to have been sacked, leading to what some combat sports reporters have described as an underwhelming slate of fights. (As in the world of prizefighting, reversals are certainly possible.)
Issues over the notoriously anti-union UFC’s compensation and its treatment of fighters are being brought to the fore amid grumblings over the middling card. UFC CEO and President Dana White, who has previously rebuffed calls to increase fighters’ pay, earlier this week denied claims made by Jones that he’d been “lowballed” in an offer to fight at the White House. White said Jones was never in consideration for the White House card, a somewhat sad claim, given Jones’ pro-Trump antics.
But allegations of athlete exploitation are nothing new for the UFC.








