UFC Doesn’t Have an Integrity Problem — It Has a Capitalism Problem
Last year, a major fight-fixing scandal broke out in mixed martial arts company UFC, centered around fighter turned trainer James Krause. No one should be surprised: UFC’s neoliberal business model all but incentivizes corruption.
Shayilan Nuerdanbieke punches Darrick Minner in a featherweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on November 5, 2022, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Chris Unger / Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
In the final quarter of 2022, a major fight-fixing scandal broke within the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the market-leading mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company. Allegedly, UFC fighter-turned-trainer James Krause bet against fighters he was coaching, potentially raking in significant returns.
Initially, UFC president Dana White and UFC management brushed aside concerns about the company’s integrity and attempted to pin the blame on a few bad apples. Now, White has conceded that fight fixing is a “huge concern” for the company, suggesting that fighters who are found to have been involved in the scheme could be facing “federal fucking prison.”
The reality is that UFC’s problem is systemic. And it’s one that has grown directly from the company’s business model, which imposes an alarming array of restrictions on fighters, forcing them to eke out a precarious living while guaranteeing the UFC profits. It’s a model straight from the neoliberal playbook, and it all but incentivizes corruption.
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