Saudi Public Investment Fund

[Ibm]

Hes right. But the Saudis like the big dollaz, MMA is chump change and nowhere big enough for their interest. Theyd prefer boxing if anything

 

[NoStoneUnturned]

Lol no. They were losing huge money so they had to partner with PGA

My impression is the Saudis expected to lose money in the short term. I'm not sure that was a surprise, how much they lost might have been but I still don't think they were tremendously bothered. Just the other day when the PGA was being asked questions by congress the PGA tour stated they felt there was no choice. It is entirely possible that is a lie. These are super rich people we are discussing after all.

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/11/pga-tour-saudi-golf-congress-00105658

 

[m249viking]

I was being serious.

Ditto

 

[Tweak896]

All the boxers and mma fighters want to fight in the UAE because they know the pay is insane out there. They are pretty much the only group that can fund whatever the fighter dreams in negotiation. No one else is close.

 

[WolverReem]

Then the fighters would be enslaved

 

[Thepostersuperb]

I actually hope they do. The Saudis surely would remove WMMA, USADA and the 10-points-must-system; all which are haram, if I remember my theology correctly. And also: The fights would air at times befit for the civilized world. So, what here is not to like?

Excellent, well thought out post.

 

[RichardHarrow]

Alhamdullilah!

 

[GreenGorilla]

Would not be suprised, sportswashing is the vibe atm it seems. Not sure how they would design the show, (Ring girls? Selling no alcohol probably? Probably harsh controls and a lot of the knuckleheads we see in the crowd in the UFC would probably be non existent or too scared to act up.

Is it morally right to support that probably not but from a purist view it might actually not be bad overall and bring some financial power back to the fighters. Gladiators fought in rome and the romans weren't exactly the kindest people either.

 

[Belaya Smert]

Imagine these Chads when the Saudis buy an NFL team

The NY Jets have been thrown out there as a possible landing spot.

 

[Volador]

They could if they wanted to. However, the whole Saudis in sports thing is them trying to appeal to the West in order to position themselves as culturally relevant. That's why the took the most popular sport in the world and hosted the world cup and now invest massive amounts of money in buying football teams, even engaging in massive monetary losses. They're buying influence.

I think that, as much as MMA has grown, it still is a niche sport, which is even seen as brutal by large sectors of the population. There's little benefit for Arabs getting into it at a loss at the moment.