Selling Violence: Marketing Combat Sports
Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly
Apostrophe Podcast Network
4.8 • 627 Ratings
🗓️ 11 April 2026
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week, we look at the marketing of violent sports.
Starting with a man named Tex Rickard, who wrote the playbook on fight promotion back in the 1920s.
We’ll analyze how WWE pro wrestling took a page from Rickard to create spectacles.
And we look at the phenomenon that is the UFC – and how mixed martial arts promotion can be carbon-dated all the way back to Rickard in the ‘20s.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You don't like ads on this, a podcast about advertising? |
| 0:05.7 | Listen ad-free at the link in the description. |
| 0:11.2 | This is an apostrophe podcast production. |
| 0:20.5 | We're going to show you our big news judicator. Start! We're going to show you our big new studio baker. |
| 0:23.6 | Start the car! |
| 0:29.6 | Mama me, that's a spicy meatball. |
| 0:33.6 | What love doesn't conquer, Alka-Seltzer will. What a relief. |
| 0:42.0 | You're under the influence with Terry O'Reilly. |
| 1:02.9 | On July 3rd, 2025, President Donald Trump was giving a speech at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. |
| 1:06.4 | During that speech, he made a surprise announcement. |
| 1:10.6 | We're going to have a UFC fight. Think of this on the grounds of the White House. |
| 1:15.8 | He said the UFC fight would be part of the nation's 250th birthday celebrations. |
| 1:24.5 | It seemed a bit surreal and odd, a full UFC event outdoors on the lawn of the White House. |
| 1:26.2 | Was Trump serious? |
| 1:27.9 | Was it even possible? |
| 1:30.0 | Or just a whim? |
| 1:38.5 | On August 29th, UFC CEO Dana White confirmed it. |
| 1:42.6 | I'm with the president watching the fights, and he looks over me, goes, you know, we should do? |
| 1:43.0 | We should do a fight at the White House. I said, okay. The White House fight was on. |
| 1:50.1 | Dana White is a loyal supporter of Trump, as Trump held a few UFC events at his properties |
| 1:56.1 | 20 years ago. The event has been christened UFC Freedom 250 in keeping with the USA's 250th birthday |
| 2:04.8 | celebrations. The event is to be held on the south lawn of the White House and seat between |
... |
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