The Gentrification of the UFC

by Alex Blum

Check out my discussion with Alex Blum about his zine article on the gentrification of the UFC. Listen on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube. Read the article below and buy a copy of the zine here.

You’ve probably seen the “Just Bleed” guy. Red, raging, possibly roided, the letters painted in white on his chest as he roars, spittle flying, flexing, dripping beers, for the camera at a UFC live event. He no longer watches the sport, and allegedly works as an accountant, but at the time he represented all that mixed martial arts was about—big, stupid, possibly illegal, goofball fun. 

But today, you may find Mark Zuckerberg or Jared Leto cageside at a UFC event. Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla seemingly rented out (though Dana White denies it) the entire seating space for a crowdless event back in 2022. And that’s a new thing as well – a crowdless event. It was a victory touted by Dana White from the early days of COVID, back when the UFC returned to broadcasting events after a brief pause in May 2020. The empty VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida enabled the promotion to put on fights without a crowd at a time when the virus had shut down global sports.