The UFC is a soft power tool for Russian authoritarianism and needs a U.S. investigation.

Long post and a little confusing post… Hope I made sense.

In nearly every other global sport, Russia has been disqualified, sanctioned, or heavily scrutinized for its role in state-sponsored doping, disinformation, and aggression. The International Olympic Committee banned Russia from multiple Games. FIFA suspended Russia from the 2022 World Cup. Even the International Paralympic Committee removed Russian athletes. These weren’t symbolic actions — they were sweeping, coordinated moves by the global sporting community to cut off the Kremlin’s ability to use sports for propaganda, prestige, and soft power projection.

But somehow, the UFC — a U.S.-based, multi-billion dollar combat sports organization — has been allowed to exist in a bizarre, sanction-free vacuum. Fighters openly train with, praise, and appear in media productions sponsored by Ramzan Kadyrov, the Chechen warlord and Putin loyalist who is under U.S. sanctions for a long list of human rights violations, including extrajudicial executions, torture, and enforced disappearances.

These aren’t private Instagram posts. Fighters like Khamzat Chimaev, Magomed Ankalaev, and others have publicly embraced Kadyrov, participated in Akhmat MMA events, and even accepted gifts and private jets. Kadyrov’s young sons have been photographed sparring with top-tier UFC fighters and I am not even going to talk about Khabib. And then — without missing a beat — these same fighters are elevated by the UFC to main event slots, earning massive purses, and gaining fan followings globally.

This is not just a case of “fighters doing their own thing.” The UFC profits from it. Every time the UFC puts one of these fighters on a pay-per-view card, especially without a single public comment on their political associations, it is mainstreaming the image of a brutal dictator. It is allowing the Kremlin’s propaganda machine to reach millions of Western households — not through RT or Sputnik, but through ESPN and UFC Fight Pass.

There is no moral firewall here. No vetting. No suspension. No questions asked. If this were the NFL, NBA, or FIFA — and players were seen meeting with sanctioned foreign actors or warlords under investigation for crimes against humanity — the outrage would be global. Sponsors would drop instantly. Hearings would be held. Congressional letters would be written. But somehow, when it happens in the UFC, it gets waved away with a “fighters are independent contractors” shrug and a new press tour.

And I think Dana White knows exactly what’s going on. His refusal to address these issues publicly is not about neutrality — it’s about money. (Hopefully money only, not some other way worse things)

This should alarm not just fight fans, but U.S. regulators, sanctions enforcers, and national security officials. The U.S. has gone out of its way to sanction Kadyrov, his inner circle, and his organizations. It has acknowledged the threat his influence poses. Yet we allow one of our biggest sports exports to feature men who promote his image? Who train at his gyms? Who accept his favors?

There is a massive blind spot here — and it’s not accidental. The UFC operates outside the framework of athletic commissions, national leagues, or governing bodies. There’s no ethics board. No regulatory oversight when it comes to international affiliations. It’s run like a private fiefdom, where Dana White makes the rules, media asks soft questions, and sponsors look the other way — as long as the fights are good.

But when a U.S.-based company profits from giving airtime to people affiliated with sanctioned war criminals, it becomes a matter of national interest — not just entertainment.