The UFC's Pride Month Shirts Can't Hide How It Really Feels
Shortly following the start of Pride Month in June, the UFC joined in the grand tradition of brands glomming onto the LGBTQ+ rights movement in order to enhance their profiles:...
The Strange Career Of Jeff Monson, American MMA Fighter Turned Russian Politician
On September 9, 2018, American mixed martial arts fighter Jeff Monson became a government official in the Russian Federation. The former UFC title challenger, who was granted Russian citizenship by President Vladimir Putin less than four months earlier, was elected to a council of deputies in the ci...
Khabib Nurmagomedov Wrestled A Bear, Became A National Hero, And Is Ready To Smash Conor McGregor
On Saturday, Conor McGregor will return to the UFC for the first time in two years to challenge Khabib Nurmagomedov for the lightweight title. The highly anticipated matchup, which pits one of the most popular athletes in the world against an undefeated champion, has been billed as the biggest fight...
The Egyptian Football Association Turned Mo Salah's World Cup Into An Embarrassing Disaster
Ahead of Egypt’s final match, against Saudi Arabia, at the 2018 World Cup, reports began to emerge that star player Mohamed Salah planned to retire from the Egyptian national team following the quadrennial tournament....
Can Russia Stop Its Far-Right Hooligans From Ruining The World Cup?
The last time the world turned its attention to an international soccer tournament, the Euro 2016 was marred by bands of violent Russian hooligans who spent a portion of the tournament, held in France, attacking fans from other countries. And as the World Cup kicks off in Russia, there’s good reason...
The World Cup Is Coming To Russia, Which Means Stray Dogs Are Being Slaughtered
This week, Russia will host the 2018 World Cup, one of the biggest international sporting events in the world. The country will play host to millions of tourists across the 11 host cities within the Russian Federation. Those visiting will be able to attend matches in Moscow, the capital city, as wel...
The Kickboxer Who Is Empowering Saudi Women By Teaching Them To Fight
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia’s port city on the Red Sea, serves as a commercial hub full of beach resorts and sights, as well as a gateway into the Islamic cities of Mecca and Medina. Several kilometres inland from the Red Sea, with its breathtaking coral reefs, is the Al Rawdah district, where a private, a...
How Egypt's Strongman Is Turning Sports Into Propaganda
Imagine, if you can, the USSF and new president Carlos Cordeiro, backed by a slew of MLS owners, calling a press conference and announcing their undying loyalty to Donald Trump, and urging all American soccer fans to vote Republican in the upcoming midterm elections. While the idea may seem fantasti...
Chechen Warlord Ramzan Kadyrov's MMA Fight Clubs And Influence Are Moving West
On Sept. 2, 2017, several of the most dangerous men in the Chechen Republic attended a UFC Fight Night event in Rotterdam. They arrived in a fleet of Mercedes Benz vehicles, which were then parked in haphazard fashion in the back lot of the Ahoy Rotterdam convention center. From the cars emerged an...
Saudi Arabia Has Turned Sports Into A Public Relations Machine
In November 2016, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia decided to start investing in sports. Its government ordered the General Authority of Sports to create a Sports Development Fund, which bolstered sports activity in the country and provided financial assistance to clubs across the nation. The objectives ...
How Steven Seagal Became A Useful Puppet For Post-Soviet Dictators
On a crisp November morning in Moscow, Steven Seagal found himself within the walls of the Grand Kremlin Palace, seated across from Vladimir Putin, the most powerful man in the Russian Federation. Dressed in a blood-red kimono and black trousers—a throwback to his days as a martial artist—Seagal obs...
The Warlords Who Rule Chechnya And Bahrain's Repressive Regime Are Bonding Over MMA
This past April 5, Ramzan Kadyrov, the longtime head of the Chechen Republic, arrived in Bahrain for an official state visit with the kingdom’s royal family. Flanked by a delegation from the Chechen government—intimidating henchmen with atrocious résumés of human rights abuses among them—Kadryov bro...
How The Warlord Who Controls Chechnya Uses Sports To Rule
When Ramzan Kadyrov stepped into the Akhmat-Arena in Grozny on a brisk December morning in 2014, a sinister smile crept across his bearded face. Dressed in black, the longtime head of the Chechen Republic surveyed the scene within the country’s primary soccer stadium, where 20,000 soldiers dressed i...