The long-standing controversy surrounding Ticketmaster’s market dominance has taken a sharp political turn, pulling in one of the most powerful figures in combat sports. For those unaware of the entire controversy, here’s a quick recap. In 2010, the ticketing giant announced a merger with Live Nation, one of the world’s largest concert promoters, managing thousands of artists and operating over 200 venues globally. At the time, despite the merger potentially creating a monopoly, the Department of Justice (DOJ) formally approved it with a 10-year “consent decree” that prohibited the new company, Live Nation Entertainment, Inc., from retaliating against venues that chose other ticket providers.

However, by 2019, the DOJ had found “numerous instances” where Live Nation intentionally retaliated against venues that didn’t use Ticketmaster. Soon calls arose to break up the company. Despite this, the DOJ at the time chose to extend the decree to 2025. Then, in May 2024, the DOJ and 30+ states officially sued to break up the company, alleging anticompetitive practices and monopoly control over the live entertainment industry.

This led the current Donald Trump administration to step in with a tentative settlement, which it reached earlier this month. According to the settlement, Live Nation must sell or end exclusive control over 13 amphitheaters, Ticketmaster must allow competitors like SeatGeek or Eventbrite to list tickets directly through its platform, ticket service fees will be capped at 15% for shows at amphitheaters owned by Live Nation, and the company will pay roughly $280 million in damages to participating states.

However, what’s more interesting is that reports reveal President Trump personally intervened to end the federal government’s pursuit of the company’s breakup. And the person who convinced Trump to do that? Dana White‘s boss and TKO Executive Chairman Ari Emanuel, who just so happens to be a former Live Nation board member.

“Reportedly, TKO boss Ari Emanuel is the one who asked Trump to drop the case against Ticketmaster,” prominent MMA Journalist, Luke Thomas, wrote on X. “There is maybe not a better example of corporate avarice, insider favoritism and audience wealth extraction in pro sports than TKO. The next admin should break them up.”

According to The Wall Street Journal, Trump actively involved himself in Ticketmaster’s case, held meetings at the White House, and pushed to fast-track settlements while avoiding prolonged court trials. Moreover, the Journal reported that Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation Entertainment, contributed $500,000 to Trump’s inauguration committee and hired lobbyists close to the administration during negotiations.

Now, like many other entertainment sectors, the UFC relies on Ticketmaster as its primary ticket provider, which also operates as a resale marketplace. Under Ticketmaster, the UFC spectacle has seen a considerable rise in prices. Even UFC 318 seats cost $716 in the most distant corners of Smoothie King Arena. Emanuel’s reported intervention with Trump is not the only instance in which the president is said to have played an indirect role in the UFC’s business affairs.

Donald Trump likely helped UFC bag the historic $7.7 billion Paramount deal

The UFC secured a remarkable deal last year, with Paramount-CBS agreeing to pay the promotion $7.7 billion over the next seven years to stream UFC fights exclusively on Paramount+. Though the UFC brass often takes credit for that strong bargain, US President Donald Trump apparently played an important role in it.

Last year, the POTUS was in a legal tussle with Paramount over CBS’s “60 Minutes” segment involving his election opponent Kamala Harris, which Trump accused of presenting a heavily edited video. As a result, the president filed a lawsuit that was eventually settled for $16 million.

Following that dispute, Trump was seen with Paramount head David Ellison at a UFC event. David Ellison is the son of Larry Ellison, the co-founder and chairman of Oracle Corporation and a close ally of Donald Trump. As a result, when the UFC finalized the deal with Paramount, many couldn’t help but believe his close ties played a role in the media giant securing the deal with the UFC. Even former Miami mayor David Samson believes the POTUS was involved throughout the process between Paramount and the UFC.

“I think to me it’s very clear, Ariel,” Samson told Ariel Helwani last year. “President Trump didn’t just get a news alert on his phone. It’s very unlikely. We’ve already learned that the president gets involved in all sorts of things. There’s talk that the NFL-ESPN deal may have been stopped, changed, or influenced by the president.

“We know the president likes to get involved with things, we know this. So, therefore, it would be almost a fiduciary irresponsible act for Dana White to go forward, and for anyone to go forward, without involving the president.”

Whether his proximity to Paramount’s leadership materially influenced the UFC’s broadcast negotiations remains a matter of speculation, but the overlap in timing has not gone unnoticed.