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The UFC might find itself in hot water due to Vince McMahon's recent sexual misconduct controversy. Unfortunately, the allegations are merely the latest in a long line of sexual misconduct accusations dating as far back as 1986. While each incident is disturbing in its own right, this one is especially harrowing.
McMahon has managed to survive countless scandals throughout his tenure at the top of sports entertainment. This time, however, he had no choice but to resign from TKO Group Holdings, the media conglomerate of which McMahon was previously the executive chairman.
Given that the UFC and WWE are both divisions of TKO, both entities' continued past association with McMahon could prove damaging. In the UFC's case, there could be a more pronounced impact than what some may anticipate.
Vince McMahon's scandals could bring attention to the UFC's most problematic fighters
UFC CEO Dana White has spent years subtly disparaging professional wrestling while ensuring that no one ever confused the competitive purity of mixed martial arts for the oft-exaggerated entertainment in WWE. Now, however, both promotions are under the same umbrella.
Furthermore, the UFC has leaned into the spectacle side of things more in recent years. Unfortunately, this association with WWE could now backfire on them by virtue of WWE's fundamental connection to Vince McMahon. The details of the ex-TKO chairman's latest sexual misconduct allegations are difficult to stomach.
The plaintiff, Janel Grant, is a former WWE employee who worked as an administrator coordinator. The sexual abuse she has disclosed, along with screenshots alleged to contain text messages McMahon sent her, has drawn tremendous outrage across social media.
This could have a negative impact on the UFC, as McMahon's alleged sexual violence with women can be associated and compared to similar conduct by some of the promotion's most visible fighters. First, there is the case of Conor McGregor, who has himself been accused of sexual assault numerous times.
The Irishman is the sport's greatest star and the UFC's biggest pay-per-view draw. Unfortunately, McGregor has been linked to sexual assault as many as four times. He was first accused of assaulting a woman in March 2019, with the alleged incident taking place in a Dublin hotel on Dec. 2018.
A second allegation was made in Oct. 2019 when McGregor was accused of assaulting a woman in a car. A third incident was disclosed on Sep. 10, 2020, with the Irishman being arrested in Corsica, France, on suspicion of attempted sexual assault and indecent exposure, alleged to have occurred in a bar.
Perhaps the most notable sexual assault accusation he has faced was the one that took place at Game Four of the 2023 NBA Finals. On June 10, 2023, reports surfaced regarding allegations that McGregor had sexually assaulted a woman in a restroom at the Kaseya Center.
While the Irishman has never been formally charged with any sexual assault, the allegations have permanently stained his public image. However, he isn't the only world-renowned fighter to draw attention to his conduct with women. Reigning UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones is another.
One of Jones' lesser-known accusations is an April 2019 incident, during which he is alleged to have sexually assaulted a waitress at a strip club by slapping her, choking her, and kissing her neck despite her pleas. Jones was subsequently charged with battery for his actions, for which he pled no contest.
Afterward, he was handed a 90-day deferred sentence under the conditions that he avoids arrest, not break any law, not consume any alcohol or recreational substance, and not return to the scene of his crime. Perhaps Jones' most harrowing offense, however, was his domestic violence case with his fiancée.
One of Jones' daughters requested assistance, which led to a 911 call from a security guard at the hotel the Jones family was staying at while they attended the UFC Hall of Fame induction ceremony for his legendary first bout with Alexander Gustafsson.
Law enforcement arrived in time to intercept Jones as he tried to flee the scene. Meanwhile, his fiancée, Jessie Moses, was spotted with blood on her face and a bump on her lip. While Jones was initially charged with domestic battery, the charges were subsequently dropped, and he and his fiancée reconciled.
Two of the UFC's high-profile fighters are associated with violent behavior toward women. As they all fall under the TKO umbrella, an association with McMahon's own conduct, even with his recent resignation, could easily be made.
TKO shareholders will not be keen to involve themselves with a public company associated with sexual violence.
How Dana White compares to Vince McMahon
While Conor McGregor and Jon Jones are high-profile names in the UFC, the promotion's public face and most recognizable authority figure is its CEO, Dana White, who, like Vince McMahon, has had a troublesome relationship with women. Now, his controversial past could be dragged back into the limelight.
If so, it could lead to a downswing in momentum for the UFC, which has battled hard to distance itself from the underground image that led many to once dismiss it as a violent spectacle that did not represent a real sport. First, White has been accused, by his own mother no less, of having sex with ring girls.
"Everyone knows that he puts Tiger Woods to shame. You know, he has... plenty of the ring card girls sleep with him. There's two of them, I know for sure."
Check out Dana White's mother's comments (4:39):
That White is accused of having sexual escapades with his own female employees, like ring girls, evokes comparisons to McMahon's own sexual misconduct with his female employees. Unfortunately, there are more allegations of White engaging his female employees in a sexual manner.
Former UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub, with whom the UFC CEO has feuded, once referred to White as his 'Eskimo brother,' which is a colloquial term referring to men who have had sex with the same partner. For context, Schaub once dated former UFC women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey.
While Schaub's implication has never been substantiated, many inferred that he was referring to Rousey, with whom White has been under suspicion of having an unprofessional relationship for years now. These, however, are merely accusations that have led to his reputation being questioned.
What of actions that White has actually committed, like slapping his wife during a physical altercation at a 2022 New Year's Eve party? That he suffered no consequences, despite—in the past—claiming that no man could bounce back from getting physical with a woman, raised several eyebrows.
Furthermore, he also gave Jon Jones a pass for assaulting his fiancée by not punishing him for it. And prior to Jones, White had also previously signed ex-NFL defensive end Greg Hardy, who was charged with strangling and issuing a death threat to an ex-girlfriend.
He has also refused to reprimand Sean Strickland for any of his controversial statements, like his deeply sexist assertion that women have no place in the American workforce. Furthermore, Strickland was also allowed to make homophobic statements despite his UFC 297 co-headliners being lesbians.
These actions could lead to the public perception that TKO does not take the safety and concern of women seriously and that it is an environment where such behavior is condoned through silence and action, especially in light of McMahon's own transgressions.
