President Donald Trump has long had connections to our world of MMA and all of combat sports. Bloody Elbow’s own Karim Zidan has previously documented that history with both the UFC and Affliction, plus Trump’s relationship with Fedor Emelianenko and his manager Vadim Finkelchtein. But digging deeper into that history reveals a connection that is worth noting.
In 2008/2009, Trump was one of the sponsors of the short-lived Affliction MMA series, which Eddie Mercado and I have covered in our 6th Round Retro Series (look for part 2 next week). Co-sponsoring the event were Trump, Golden Boy Promotions, and Russian MMA organization M-1 Global.