Hour 1: Speaking Of Danger (feat. Luke Thomas)

Summary

The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Episode: “Speaking Of Danger” (feat. Luke Thomas)
Date: April 6, 2026
Hour 1

Episode Overview

Live from the Elser Hotel in Miami, Dan Le Batard, Stugotz, and the crew blend their signature sports and pop-culture analysis with sharp political commentary. This episode features esteemed MMA journalist and analyst Luke Thomas, discussing the unprecedented pairing of a major UFC event with Trump’s 80th birthday at the White House, and the intricate, polarizing connections between combat sports, politics, and power in America. The episode also covers current South Florida sports stories, the aftermath of the NCAA Women's Championship, and delivers both social critique and classic show banter.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

South Florida Sports Rundown & Show Banter

[01:58 - 06:00]

• Dan announces an upcoming live watch party for the Florida Panthers’ season finale, reflecting on their injury-riddled, .500 season and injuries to key player Barkov.
• Stugotz compares the Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors, deriding both teams’ seasons.
• The crew reviews the Marlins’ recent games, with Dan seeking to clear his name after allegedly confusing a play from "Major League II" with an actual Japanese baseball moment. This leads to funny anecdotes about televised international baseball during the pandemic.

Notable Moment

• Classic joking about confusing pop-culture, sports, and memories:
  • Stugotz: “It’s just offensive that my team believes that I just grab random things from the movie.” [05:36]

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NCAA Women’s Final & Geno Auriemma Controversy

[06:00 - 12:58]

• Dan and Stugotz criticize legendary UConn coach Geno Auriemma for his conduct following South Carolina’s double-digit championship win:
  • Geno was seen complaining about Dawn Staley’s supposed lack of a pregame greeting, but video evidence contradicted his claims.
  • Dawn Staley was seen mouthing “I will beat Geno’s ass”—used as both a point of humor and a testament to her competitiveness.

Key Quotes

• Stugotz: “She would have suplexed that sore loser old man. What a baby Geno Auriemma was after losing, no grace whatsoever.” [06:39]
• Dan: “Isn’t terribly surprising at all that a man would come in and ruin a celebration for women. Dawn Staley muttering…‘I will beat Gino’s ass.’” [08:21]
• Dan: “It is just such bad form to have that little grace that the reason you’re trying to fight somebody is because she didn’t show you… the proper respect.” [10:53]

Insight

• The show frames the incident as a broader example of gender dynamics in sport, issues of grace in defeat, and media narratives.

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FEATURE INTERVIEW: Luke Thomas on UFC, Trump, and the State of MMA

[16:14 - 38:26]

UFC’s White House Event: Sports Meets Politics

[16:54 – 18:14]

• Luke Thomas breaks down UFC “Freedom 250,” planned for Trump’s 80th birthday on the White House South Lawn.
• Thomas explains this is both a real MMA sporting event (two top-tier fights) and a political reward for UFC’s role in Trump’s political resurgence.
• He claims the UFC is arguably the most mainstream entertainment group helping “rehabilitate” Trump post-January 6th.

Key Quote

• Luke Thomas: “You have to just kind of recognize what it is, which is that this is a reward for the UFC in helping return Trump to power...” [17:34]

The UFC’s Political Turn & Industry Impact

[18:14 – 23:00]

• Thomas comments on UFC’s complete “right-wing turn,” describing how it shifted fan demographics and empowered right-wing advocacy in MMA gyms and organizations.
• He notes the organization’s shift accompanied by a new media and audience dynamic, pulling in “terminally online chud losers.”
• Luke maintains the UFC’s symbiosis with Trump is indelible:
  • “You cannot disentangle those two... I think we need to always assign the return of Trump to power with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.” [19:58]

Dana White’s Fading Touch

[23:00 – 25:28]

• Dan probes rumors about Dana White being “checked out.”
  • Luke affirms: White no longer does matchmaking or contracts; he’s more a TV production and marketing figurehead now.
  • The company’s monopolistic position has made it “lazy,” no longer pressured by competition.
• “He doesn’t really do matchmaking anymore… It has made them lazy.” [24:27]

Logistical and Socio-Political Risks of UFC at the White House

[25:28 – 28:04]

• Discussion of massive security, background checks, crowd management, and symbolism of fighters walking from the Oval Office.
• Luke warns of the partisan costs and unpredictable ramifications of merging UFC’s brand with presidential power.
• “You did that… by making a partisan turn. And in making that partisan turn, there comes a series of benefits… but a series of costs as well.” [27:33]

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Fan Backlash: TKO and the Changing Economics of Combat Sports

[28:48 – 31:13]

• Mike spotlights wrestling fans’ backlash over TKO’s handling of WWE (pricing, creative control, Saudi Arabia events).
• Luke explains that while MMA fans are slower to blame the corporate overlords, the pain of monopolistic “extraction” is becoming clear.
• “They have a monopolistic control over the industry and so everyone just kind of suffers except for them.” [30:41]

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The “Danger” of Modern Politics: Trump, Power, and Global Consequences

[31:13 – 34:44]

• Dan reads a Trump Truth Social post threatening military action; Luke delivers a grave, sweeping warning about American instability:
• The U.S. is losing the trust of global allies, and Americans underestimate how bad things can get (e.g., closing Strait of Hormuz, soaring gas prices).
• Luke reflects on post-9/11 leadership, describing current government as “grossly incompetent, way in over their heads.”
• “I don’t have any great or encouraging words for your audience other than buckle up, because the ride is only just beginning.” [34:39]

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MMA History & Banter: Alex Pereira’s Quest

[34:44 – 36:40]

• Banter over Tony’s muddled question about Alex Pereira’s chance to become a three-division UFC champ.
• Luke praises the historical nature of Pereira’s campaign, noting he’d be the first to ever attempt winning belts in three divisions.
• “It would represent a historical achievement... He’s been like the MVP of this company.” [36:17]

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Personal: Luke Thomas on Joining the Marines

[36:40 – 38:26]

• Luke recounts how he joined the Marines at 17, narrowly avoiding combat deployments due to his artillery specialization, which was phased out post-9/11.
• “I consider not having to die for Dick Cheney and George Bush or be mentally affected... one of the truly great blessings of my life.” [38:12]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Stugotz on Geno Auriemma:
  “She would have suplexed that sore loser old man. What a baby Geno Auriemma was after losing, no grace whatsoever.” [06:39]

• Luke Thomas on UFC & Trump:
  “There is basically no mainstream, certainly not sport and entertainment entity, that has a greater role in returning Trump to power than the UFC.” [17:26]

• Dan on viewing the White House UFC event:
  “What are you expecting in terms of the galling fusion of things that are gonna bother you as someone who is a journalist who tries to be fair… but you also see America melting down in the hands of somebody who ought to be in a nursing home?” [18:14]

• Luke Thomas on modern American politics:
  “We are surrounded, we are surrounded with leadership that is grossly incompetent, way in over their heads, simply unable to understand the enemy…” [33:41]

• Tony, flubbing his question about Alex Pereira:
  “For a… a un… just completely crazy, three time champ belt champion in three different weight classes.” [39:08]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:58] Panthers & Miami/Fla Sports rundown
• [06:00] NCAA Women’s Final, Geno Auriemma controversy
• [16:14] Introduction of Luke Thomas
• [16:54] Luke Thomas on UFC “Freedom 250” at White House
• [18:14] UFC’s role in Trump’s political return
• [23:00] Dana White’s current role and influence
• [25:28] Logistical/security issues of White House fight event
• [28:48] Fan backlash against TKO (WWE/UFC)
• [31:13] Trump, America “melting down,” global instability
• [34:44] Alex Pereira’s potential three-division championship
• [36:40] Luke Thomas’ Marine Corps background

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Overall Tone & Flow

• Language/Tone: Candid, irreverent, sharply critical, blending humor with serious social and political critique.
• Flow: The show weaves South Florida sports, national issues, MMA and politics, with big personalities improvising, ribbing, and debating.

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Listen to the full episode for:

• More banter on Stugotz and Tony’s show mishaps
• Cutting observations about gender and respect in sport
• Luke Thomas’ incisive political analysis and deep MMA knowledge
• The classic energy the Le Batard Show is known for

(Note: Ads and sponsored segments omitted for clarity and focus on content.)

Transcript

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[Dan LeBatard]

This is the Dan LeBatard show with the Stugats podcast.

[Show Announcer]

Hour one of the Dan LeBatard show is presented by DraftKings. DraftKings the Crown is yours again.

[Dan LeBatard (Host)]

I will remind you that we're going to be popping up more and more at odd hours just doing shows for you that are tied to something in sports and the next one of these that we're gonna do is tomorrow night beginning at 6:30pm where we watch the last of the Panthers season together. The defending the two time defending champions deserve a better burial than Keith Tkachuk calling them soft and them losing 9 and 52 at Pittsburgh to be eliminated from the playoffs. So we will celebrate the Panthers tomorrow night. I don't think there's any dishonor in Getting a bunch of injuries and your best player gets injured and then all of a sudden the conference is very good. And so you're merely a.500 team trying to get Barkhoff back. And you can't get the season to Barkhoff so he decides to not come back at all. Or I suspect that if they made a playoff run he might have tried to do something. But we'll watch Heat at Raptors I'm not optimistic with. They're actually the same team.

[Stugats]

Both the Heat and the Raptors are the same team. They got the same point differential.

[Dan LeBatard (Host)]

The difference between them is that Miami

[Stugats]

lost a game at home to Utah that Utah was trying to dump.

[Dan LeBatard (Host)]

But they've got to play both games in Canada. And so I'm not expecting anything from the Miami Heat.

[Show Announcer]

And that's at 6:30 tomorrow. 305 Equinox presented by Never Miss yous Shot Golf.

[Dan LeBatard (Host)]

Thank you. And then also the first place Marlins who were hitting and then beat the Yankees fended off the Yankees to win one of three in New York yesterday. But the video team found what I was looking for. I was not accidentally racist. I was not confusing a Japanese player who caught a home run ball from Major League two with this play. Major League two was stealing this play. And I'm sorry, audio audience. I suggest going to YouTube so that you could see Submariner.

[Tony]

Yeah.

[Show Announcer]

Drive to left field.

[Luke Thomas]

It's almost. Oh, he climbs the wall and it's

[Dan LeBatard (Host)]

caught on top of the wall.

[Stugats]

He's got his.

[Dan LeBatard (Host)]

That was an excellent call.

[Tony]

A little sad though.

[Dan LeBatard (Host)]

It was also sad.

[Tony]

Oh, he hit.

[Stugats]

Was also sad. We didn't have any crowd noise. Crack of the bat. He didn't have it. What was his motivation really? A Japanese baseball game for Boog Shombie

[Tony]

in a closet doing Korean baseball.

[Stugats]

Yes. Can we talk about that for a second?

[Tony]

Good times.

[Stugats]

No, but what he just said at the beginning of the pandemic, ESPN had local cable contracts that hadn't accounted for. What do you mean? They're going to be no sports. And so to fulfill those contracts, ESPN was airing at 5 o' clock in the morning with Boogie in a closet somewhere. Somewhere South Korean baseball. But the best part of that is that Boog would be studying for that game. Okay. And what would happen is right before the game at 5 o' clock in the morning, 10 minutes beforehand they'd say, boog, that's not the game. You have this game over here. And he's like, are you kidding me? I don't know any of these players name. I'm Already in my closet. How am I going to call south hits it to the guy.

[Tony]

And number 10 hits it to 32. 33.

[Bucked Up Energy Drink Advertiser]

Boom goes the dynamite.

[Stugats]

Yeah, it's not good situation.

[Dan LeBatard (Host)]

I feel exonerated.

[Stugats]

You guys were desperate to accuse me of conflating Major League 2 and a Japanese left fielder with a play I had seen in Japanese baseball. It was insulting to me. It was demeaning. It underestimates me. I'm offended that our show would believe that.

[Mike]

I would think you can't act like you've been there before if you've never been there.

[Show Announcer]

Guy gets one thing right, they get a victory lap.

[Stugats]

It's just offensive that my team believes that I just grab random things from the movie.

[Mike]

We're all as surprised as you are

[Stugats]

and make them my own.

[Dan LeBatard (Host)]

Like, do you remember during that Anaheim

[Stugats]

Angels game with Gwyneth Paltrow's head was in a box. The story from the weekend I thought,

[Dan LeBatard (Host)]

and I know UCLA just won the championship. And I know that Dawn Staley was very, very happy for Corey Close in a way she would not have been for Gino Auriemma.

[Stugats]

But to me, the story of the

[Dan LeBatard (Host)]

weekend from basketball, men's and women's, was Gino Auriemma making a fool of himself as a poor loser after an undefeated season, where he gets his head wiped on the floor by a South Carolina team that beats him by double digits and then is whimpering afterward about how Dawn Staley wouldn't come and say hello to him, that he was waiting for her three minutes to say hello before the game and then after the game

[Stugats]

decides to say something to her about it. And she could be seen mouthing, I will beat Geno's ass. She says it twice, and I believe her. I believe that if Gino Auriemma had tried to fight Don Staley, she would have suplexed him. She would have suplexed that sore loser old man. What a baby Gino Auriemma was after losing, no grace whatsoever after losing and should be embarrassed by the way his team performed, by the way his team got dragged, and should be more embarrassed by the way that he represented his sport there in a moment where he takes away from what South Carolina did by making the show at the end about himself. Because that's the punctuation he puts on their season. Just a true embarrassment. One of the great stains on a really, truly legendary, pioneering career.

[Mike]

One day later, Yukon put out a statement from Gino Oriemma saying, quote, there is no excuse for how I handle the end of the game versus South Carolina. It's unlike what I do and what our standard is here at Connecticut. I want to apologize to the staff and the team at South Carolina. It was uncalled for how I reacted. The story should be how well South Carolina played, and I did not want my actions to detract from that. I've had a great relationship with their staff, and. And I sincerely want to apologize to them. He never says Coach Daley's name.

[Stugats]

He said that they're not friends.

[Dan LeBatard (Host)]

He said they have nothing in common. And it.

[Dan LeBatard]

Whoa.

[Dan LeBatard (Host)]

Isn't terribly.

[Tony]

My head kicked there.

[Dan LeBatard (Host)]

Surprising at all that a man would come in and ruin a celebration for women. Dawn Staley muttering in a way that was snarling. And everyone saw. I will beat Gino's ass. Gino. 72. Don Staley.

[Show Announcer]

She mouthed it multiple times like, I need this to get clipped.

[Bucked Up Energy Drink Advertiser]

What do you think the odds would be?

[Dan LeBatard (Host)]

What would be the draftkings odds on Don Staley against Geno Areema? I think Gino Auriemma would have a burst of crazy at the beginning, but then stamina would be a problem. 72.

[Show Announcer]

Be Like Me during the street hockey game, where I come out strong, and then about two minutes in, I'm like, I need a break.

[Mike]

I don't want to handicap it.

[Dan LeBatard (Host)]

Except he's twice your age.

[Show Announcer]

That's right.

[Dan LeBatard (Host)]

He's 70. He's 72. It is, to me, instructive, funny, amazing, and a symbol to the competitive spirit of what Don Staley is that she would say that, feel it, think it, and know it. Like that she would.

[Stugats]

That she would. That she would mouth that. That it would be in her because she believes it and because the ferocity and the rage and the competitive nature of the moment grabbed her. It was a startling thing for me to watch, basically, her have inside her the kind of rage that would want to fight an old man.

[Bucked Up Energy Drink Advertiser]

Well, and we've seen coaches get physical with each other before. Was it. It was Juwan Howard and who was it a few years ago? I forget the coach, but they put hands on each other. You remember. Did you want to take a swing at him? Actually, you've seen it before. Where there have been coaches who put hands on.

[Dan LeBatard (Host)]

You haven't seen it when it's a

[Stugats]

man and a woman, that would be crazy.

[Tony]

Then something you said earlier. You think this is actually going to be a stain on Gino's entire, like, legacy and stuff? Like, I don't think we'll ever talk this ever. Like, 10 years down the road.

[Dan LeBatard (Host)]

Oh, wait I'm not saying it's a stain on his entire legacy. I'm saying it's a stain on everything he's done today. I'm saying what has just happened here

[Stugats]

leaves a mark on who he is in a way that people will remember

[Dan LeBatard (Host)]

that he was this sore a loser. Of course, the greater look, man, I've heard Conan o' Brien say this. He's like, look, we're all, you know, dust motes. It's been a long time since anyone mentioned the name of Calvin Coolidge, who used to be important. Like Conan o' Brien was standing over the grave of Calvin Coolidge and wondering, like, we're pretty small and irrelevant, all of us. The history of Gino Auriemma will be a great leader and pioneer. But I will not unsee what a sore loser he was to ruin this for everybody this weekend.

[Stugats]

Like, it is just such bad form to have that little grace that the reason you're trying to fight somebody is because she didn't show you, the king of college basketball, the proper respect and you had to wait for her for three minutes. And the only reason we know it's is because you volunteered it afterward because you were being such a big baby about the fact that your team got dragged, you haven't lost all season, and the way that you lose that one, you, you have so little dignity and grace about the frustration of the moment that it leaks out and just soar loser stuff that then you have to clean up with a bunch of public relations and statements the day after. Again, it's supposed to be a celebration of the women. What are you doing?

[Mike]

I'm going to be an ally here, harping on this and saying stuff like that. That's not being a true ally. We see guys go at this all the time when Jim Schwartz and Jim Harbaugh are running up the tunnel where we're not taking five minutes out to say, how could you do that to poor Jim Schwartz? So I'm going to be an ally here. Equality for all.

[Bucked Up Energy Drink Advertiser]

Well, but the, I think the strangest part was the things that Gino Oriemma was saying he was upset about didn't actually happen. Like he was saying how originally he said, you know, she didn't come and shake my end pre game. And then somehow it turned into he had to wait for three min. They show the video of them shaking hands pre game. And he also talked about how physical South Carolina was and how one of his players had her jersey ripped and the referees didn't even call it. And then they show the video. The girl ripped her own jersey after the play behind the basket in frustration. It's like he was. He was like confused.

[Mike]

Bob Sala threatened to kick Liam Cohen's ass to his face. Oh, yeah, that's right.

[Dan LeBatard (Host)]

Again, the thing that I'm complaining about is the whimpering afterward that he just made it all about him in. In his frustration because he didn't like that he lost for the first time this season. Like it was.

[Stugats]

It was. I'm not even talking about the argument with her. I'm talking about everything he did afterwards.

[Mike]

Being a sore loser.

[Stugats]

I mean, he's just being a baby. That's not a 72 year old adult. That's somebody who's not used to losing and reacts very poorly to losing.

[Dan LeBatard]

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[Mike]

Hey, Roy, buddy.

[Dan LeBatard]

Yo.

[Mike]

You know that energy shift when the game gets good and everybody all together in unison knows to stand up on their feet?

[Dan LeBatard]

Oh, absolutely. Mike.

[Bucked Up Energy Drink Advertiser]

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[Mike]

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[Dan LeBatard]

Oh, delicious.

[Mike]

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[Stugats]

Don Lebatar John Zaslo how you love that catchphrase. Bad news for opposing teams in the Triple A. Yeah.

[Luke Thomas]

ST Smiles till the bloods are clutch again.

[Stugats]

Clutch again. Clutch again.

[Dan LeBatard]

This is the D Levatar show with the st.

[Stugats]

I wanted to talk to this guy

[Dan LeBatard (Host)]

because he does very good work in an assortment of areas. Morning combat on MMA, the DraftKings network. He's a journalist, he's an analyst, he's a host, and his work on combat sports, I'd say, is second to none. I put him right there in the class with Ariel Helwani. I don't put anybody in that class, Tony. New episodes every Monday and Friday. And he's also very good on politics. Luke Thomas gets political. Nice seeing you, Luke. Thank you for making the time for us. The place that I wanted to start is the fight on the White House lawn. What are you doing with all of that?

[Luke Thomas]

Trying to process exactly what it means and how to cover it. It's not exactly clear. This, of course, will take place on Trump's 80th birthday. June 15, I believe, is the day. It is essentially. I mean, you have to understand it's basically two events in one. And what I mean by that is, on the one hand, it is, if you look at the card, it is a real MMA event. And not just that you can quibble about the quality of the card in some capacity, but certainly the top two fights have very important relevance for the divisions in which they take place, respectively. In the main event, lightweight and then the co. Main Event heavyweight. So I'm going to cover it on one level like that. On the other level, though, you have to just kind of recognize what it is, which is that this is a reward for the UFC in helping return Trump to power to the 2024 election. It is my belief that there is basically no mainstream, certainly not sport and entertainment ent entity that has a greater role in returning Trump to power than the ufc. And in particular, and this is important, Dan, they are the most important, again, mainstream kind of actor in rehabilitating Donald Trump post January 6th. And there's more to be talked about if you want to. So I'm trying to cover both of those events as one simultaneously, a fight event, as well as this kind of political reward for this, this effort that they did for the Trump regime.

[Dan LeBatard (Host)]

It's called UFC Freedom 250. As you mentioned, it's gonna be Trump's birthday. What are you expecting in terms of the galling fusion of things that are gonna bother you as someone who is

[Stugats]

a journalist who tries to be fair

[Dan LeBatard (Host)]

and objective about the way you cover sports, but you also see America melting down in the hands of somebody who ought to be in a nursing home?

[Luke Thomas]

Yeah, I gotta be honest. Like, they're. To me, the right wing turn that the company has made is complete. It is. I mean, I don't know that they're. I mean, they could, they could keep going further down the line. But what I mean to say is it used to bother me when they were in this kind of period where they were trotting him out and it was, it literally changed the sport. Right. I mean, this is not an exaggeration. On the one hand, it drove out people who have, who aren't like, automatically sympathetic to Mago or at a bare minimum, just, you know, politically agnostic. It drove all of them out and it pulled back in a group of folks who I would describe as like, terminally online chud losers. There's just a bunch of them, more than they're used to.

[Dan LeBatard]

To be.

[Luke Thomas]

That's one. And then it also gave license down the line within other actors in the space to lean into their right wing advocacy. So, for example, in, in Coconut Creek, Florida, not too far from where you are, Dan, there's American Top Team, which is a fantastic gym, but they helped hold a political rally to get Ron DeSantis reelected. You know, during this kind of time, this fever that was happening that the UFC kind of opened the door to, at least within the MMA space. So it doesn't actually really bother me Anymore. I mean, it's kind of done. Just looking to see is what it actually does to the sport long term. And to be clear, the jury is very much still out on that. They just signed a huge Paramount deal. They're going to make a ton of money. But as you indicated, Dan, the country is on fire. He's trying to set the world on fire. And I want to say this one more time. They wanted a lot of credit in returning Trump to power when there was a lot of fever in favor of Trump. But now a lot of that fever is beginning to break. But I still think. I think we need to make sure that we always assign the return of Trump to power with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. You cannot disentangle those two. And so I'm just looking to see what impact all of this ultimately has. But my revulsion those days are pretty much over.

[Mike]

Luke, what do you make of Dana's soft launch into trying to be someone that brings all the sides together and trying to distance himself from how political an organization the UFC is in your mind?

[Luke Thomas]

Yeah, I find this to be, I mean, manifestly absurd. People have tried to make the argument, to me, for example, that Dana himself is not super political, that this is more just sort of playing the levels of what it means to be a big company trying to navigate the world of whatever your needs might be in terms of interfacing with government or powerful actors. And there's something to be said for that, surely. Right. I don't to want. I don't think that he's some kind of Matt Walsh character or something, but it doesn't really matter. It doesn't matter because what they did was, again, after January 6th, one of the very first places that Trump went was UFC, I think, two. Whatever it was, it was the trilogy between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier. I believe UFC 246 could be 240 something else. I forget exactly what the number is. 264 or something like that, but it's the trilogy. In July of 2021, it was the same within the span of days of the time where he went to cpac. And if you actually. I did a whole video on this, you actually look at when Trump goes to UFC events. Not always, but pretty often it's in close conjunction with when he was getting indicted in and, by the way, held for liable for crimes in New York State. It was when the Jack Smith case was sort of ongoing in all its various dimensions. So he's getting mug shots, he's in Atlanta, he's getting Hauled around and in close proximity. He would go to these UFC events to kind of sort of rally support for him. Dana White, in fact, was very explicit about this. And my point is very clear, like, whatever. Dana White's personal view about the world, and maybe he doesn't hold all the same views as, for example, Stephen Miller, it doesn't matter, because he was a chief architect in returning a political project to power. You own what comes with that. You cannot distance yourself now. It is absolutely too late. So this idea that now we can come to a place after you've changed the fan base, after you've turned MMA into a vector for right wing politics, now it's time for Kumbaya. No, it is not. There is no coming back from this. And the destruction that Trump has. Has wrought upon us is only, frankly, just beginning. And the UFC was very, very clear that they were big supporters of the President. And I intend to make sure everyone understands that connection as things deteriorate, you

[Dan LeBatard (Host)]

know, vastly more than I do. So please inform this, which, as much reported detail as you can, the criticism that I keep hearing, that Dana White has checked out, that he doesn't care about UFC the way that he used to, that he's involved in a bunch of other stuff, and his lack of touch on things can be seen fair or unfair.

[Luke Thomas]

Largely. Pretty fair. Largely. Not entirely, but largely. And for some reason, that's actually not really controversial or has any kind of partisan valence. Part of it is that they want him to remain in place because he is obviously the UFC's most promoted star, if you think about it, and the fan base knows him. And again, you can make a lot of criticisms about Dana, but one thing you absolutely cannot deny is that to his bones, he's a fight fan. Like, that's real. And I accept that that's real. And I think everybody has to. Whereas somebody like Mark Shapiro, who's the chief operating officer of tko, I mean, he could go to fights the rest of his life, and I would never consider him a fight fan. By the way, small little note there, Dan. You may recall Mark Shapiro was the guy Dan Snyder hired back here. I Live in Washington, D.C. to turn the Six Flags franchise around in the late 2000s. Couldn't really do it, but any event, a little bit of a slowdown. Yeah.

[Dan LeBatard (Host)]

Then he became Stephen A. Smith's agent.

[Luke Thomas]

Yeah, right. So you get the idea. But in any case, you're asking about whether he's checked out, there is simply no doubt. They have removed a lot of power from him.

[Stugats]

Him.

[Luke Thomas]

Right and by his own admission, he doesn't really do matchmaking anymore. He claims he doesn't really do fighter contracts anymore. Now he is in charge, as I understand it, of the television broadcast, for example, the production elements and how it all looks and how it all sounds. Obviously he has a role kind of as like a figurehead, but I think the, the amount of success that the UFC has had and the monopolistic control, this is my opinion. Take her for what it is worth. It has made them lazy. It has made them lazy and a little bit sitting on their ass in terms of, you know, kind of the, the, the, the. They used to crack the whip on their competitors and there aren't any competitors anymore. And so between the, the, the market control that they have, as well as changing Dana's role within the company, you know, he'll do these announcements for these fights and he's like reading off a sheet of like stats and it used to be the case he would like announce fights and then he'd be aggressively pitching you on why they matter. He literally cannot do that for the most part. So, so I would say that there is absolute validity to those concerns if he shows up.

[Dan LeBatard (Host)]

Cuz he's missing a lot of these press conferences too. This White House event is a logistical nightmare. So what do you believe the biggest

[Luke Thomas]

issues are in terms of its logistical challenges or otherwise?

[Dan LeBatard (Host)]

Right. It doesn't have to just be logistical. You might be worried about safety or

[Tony]

Alex Perea, how he's gonna fare on the ground with Cyril Gane. Dan, it's a very important question. Can Justin Gaethje hold the right hand of Ilio Toporia? It's a lot of questions to be asked.

[Luke Thomas]

I mean, just on the logistical side, you know, I honestly don't know how they're gonna do it. So I've looked this up. I mean, they're going to do it. I'm not saying that they won't pull it off. They've been pretty good about, you know, achieving logistical challenges. But on the security side of things, man, I just don't know how this is gonna work. So Obama, in the last year of his office, held a kind of quasi south by Southwest knockoff event on the South Lawn and had about a thousand people there. And they did that pretty successfully without much issue. Different time, different presidency, but they pulled that off. They're talking about three to five thousand people just on the White House lawn. Many of them will be troops that they're gonna bring in, which I don't think is a bad call. Necessarily, but there's gonna be a lot of the, you know, D.C. mcClain, KPMG, Booz Allen kind of class of people there. They're all gonna have to have background checks to get in. Getting into the White House, getting out of the White House, getting 5,000 people into the White House, to say nothing of the fact that. That what they're claiming, and we'll see if this ends up being true, is that the fighters are going to walk out of the Oval Office onto the South Lawn, and that certainly creates a grand, physical thing to show on television. But, dude, how are you. How are you going to do that with all of these managers and all of these, like, agents and all of these, like, just training partners and coaches and, like, it just seems like it's a lot. I don't know how that's going to work. And then beyond that, I'm kind of interested to see just how the rest of the world receives it. I think. I think the thing that you have to understand is with inside mma, they're looking at this like, hey, look at the amount of triumph that we have. We have ascended to the top halls of power. That's what we've done. And so they're looking at this as like, look, we've arrived. And there is something to be said for that, certainly. But to me, the argument is, you did that. You actually made that final ascent by making a partisan turn. And in making that partisan turn, there comes a series of benefits, certainly, but a series of costs as well. And I'm very curious to see in the end, and depending on how much Trump magnification, the broadcast actually delves into what this does to the brand or the sport, which, by the way, has some issues beyond just. In fact, I would argue even bigger issues beyond just the partisan turn it's taken.

[Mike]

Protein is now at Starbucks, and it's never tasted so good. You can add protein cold foam to

[Luke Thomas]

your favorite drink, or try one of

[Mike]

our new protein lattes or matcha. Try it today at Starbucks.

[Luke Thomas]

Don LeBatard, to US residents.

[Stugats]

Oh, wow. That's for sure.

[Luke Thomas]

It's in there.

[Stugats]

It's better.

[Luke Thomas]

Think I haven't been practicing stugats.

[Stugats]

I didn't realize we had a substitute. Complicated legacy brought to you by headquarters.

[Tony]

Toyota 441 Powerline Road.

[Luke Thomas]

Second down to nine.

[Dan LeBatard]

This is the Dan Levatar show with the Stugats.

[Mike]

Luke TKO oversees WWE and ufc. And very recently, there seems to be a turn amongst the wrestling fans against TKO. The decisions they're making, being priced out, taking a WrestleMania to Saudi Arabia. And they've got this whole creative arm that the Internet wrestling community seems to disagree with in the UFC sector of things. Are there fans that are directing their ire towards tko? Is there a clear line of demarcation the way that there is with wrestling fans?

[Luke Thomas]

Yes, but maybe not quite as explicit. I mean, what I'm noticing more, at least right now, and I think this will change, but certainly right now, what you're looking, what you're seeing from MMA fans is they're looking for a scapegoat of some kind. So, for example, like the guy that does what Dana maybe once used to do is his name is Hunter Campbell and he's the one that does most of. Not the matchmaking per se, but, you know, fighter negotiations. And you'll see him at events, he has glasses and, you know, anyway, he's kind of mustachioed man. Yes. He has mustachio. Yes. Or mustache, whatever the proper term exactly would be. Forgive me, I forgot the nature of the question. Can you repeat it one more time?

[Mike]

Well, you were holding them up as an example of like, oh, tko.

[Luke Thomas]

Yes, yes, yes, yes.

[Dan LeBatard (Host)]

Get it together. Get it together. Luke, you got distracted by your.

[Stugats]

Your distracted by pistachio.

[Luke Thomas]

Me, I apologize. I don't. So that's one. The other one is because the fights, not so much the last two weeks, but in general, they've been very lackluster recently. You're seeing people be like, oh, it's the Paramount era. Which doesn't make any sense because most of these issues are long standing before. You are seeing some people connect the dots to what is basically the extraction economy that TKO is trying to do, where they take from the talent and they extract value from the fan base. They. They have a monopolistic control over the industry and so everyone just kind of suffers except for them. You are seeing some dots connected, but I don't think it's to the same degree that you do from wrestling fans who clearly pinpoint the corporate over overlords in a way that MMA fans are still kind of pointing at the people that are more accessibly in their orbit rather than these sort of like, not fictional per se, but, you know, who is Mark Shapiro to the average MMA fan? I mean, they don't even know who he is in large part, nor should they necessarily. But it seems like with wwe, the fans are much more in tune with how the product changes as a result of like basically private equity.

[Dan LeBatard (Host)]

I urge you to listen and watch Morning combat on the DraftKings network, wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube at Morning Combat and also watch, listen and subscribe to Luke Thomas gets Political. Getting political on the way out here on Easter Sunday. I really do believe that we need to take the keys from Grandpa and put him in a home. What he is doing is dangerous to our country. And on Easter he writes this on Truth Social Tuesday will be Power Plant day and Bridge Day all wrapped in one in Iran. There will be nothing like it. Open the effing straight, you crazy bastards, or you'll be living in hell. Just watch.

[Stugats]

Praise be to Allah.

[Dan LeBatard (Host)]

There are a number of things about this that are troublesome up to and including that our President is out here just threatening war crimes. Like, what the hell, Luke?

[Luke Thomas]

We are in trouble. We are in trouble. We are in deep, deep trouble. Are entering a phase of the rest of the world decoupling from the financial and security apparatus that has secured parts of American prosperity for generations. And the way in which this is going to come undone and the way in which it is going to be both messy, ugly and probably very, very bad, even for the average American, I don't think they've even wrapped their head around. I mean, for example, just in terms of closing the Strait of Hormuz, the oil reserves that are already in motion to get to the country are basically the last versions of those. Arrive April 15th. If you think your prices at the pump are high now, just wait. And to say nothing, by the way, of the role that MMA played specifically in the podcast circuits or the MMA adjacent world that Rogan sphere. And returning Trump to power is kind of also an important point that should not be lost on other people. But I just wanna be clear. I'm 46 years old. I've never seen the world through American power as destabilized as I do now. It is very obvious that our trading partners and our friends to the north can no longer trust us. It is obvious that our friends and trading partners in Europe can no longer trust us. We made a bet with the GCC countries that they could do tax, you know, loose tax laws and they could have this kind of no street crime society, but we had to provide security for them. We cannot. And I want to say something else. I watched. This is very important. I watched 911 happen in my dorm room my senior year in college. And if there is one thing that I learned as a result of all of that, is that when you have incompetent people in positions of power, it's not just that they make bad decisions that don't yield fruitful results. It is that they are dangers to the world, they are dangerous to society. They are dangers and threats to everybody else. We are surrounded, we are surrounded with leadership that is grossly incompetent, way in over their heads, simply unable to understand the enemy that they have in Iran, unable to plan ahead because they don't understand their actions. They don't understand, by the way, with this whole immigration satanic panic, which is what I call it, I'm the, I'm the husband and the child of an immigrant. Like none of that is based in the reality and the truth about immigration. They are Don Quixote attacking windmills, the phony problems that don't even exist, meanwhile exacerbating the kinds of existing problems or creating new ones because they simply do not know what they are doing. I don't have any great or encouraging words for your audience other than buckle up because the ride is only just beginning.

[Tony]

Speaking of danger, talk about danger. In the heavyweight division, Alex Pareta moving up for a just completely crazy three time champ belt champion in three different weight classes.

[Stugats]

What did you just say? What did you just say?

[Bucked Up Energy Drink Advertiser]

Tap out.

[Stugats]

What did you just say?

[Mike]

I mean, I would love for Luke to answer the question.

[Luke Thomas]

I think it's interesting. What he's talking about is the co main event of this White House card and as I mentioned, there's some griping about the card, but the main and the co main have some real value in particular to me. The fight he's talking about is the best one on that card. So what they've got is this guy named Alex Pereira. Okay. He was a very, very, very accomplished kickboxer who kind of came to MMA late. And if you know the history of mma, kickboxers have sometimes done really well, but in general the wrestlers tend to do better. And he started out at middleweight, had this insane rivalry with Israel Adesanya who was, you know, on again, off again champ at that time. Then he moves up to 205 pounds, becomes a multi time champ there and now he dropped that belt to go up to heavyweight to do something that literally no one in the history of the UFC has ever done, which is claim a title in a third weight class. It's literally never been done in large part because you can't even get the opportunity to do it. Now the only catch here is it's for an interim title. It doesn't actually confer full status, that is currently owned by Tom Aspinall, who has been out with an eye injury for some time. Nevertheless, it would represent A historical achievement within the sport. And I would say this Alex Pereira is the guy who headlined UFC 300. He's been like the MVP of this company. Him and Elliot Illbria, but more so Powhatan, and just terms of, like, delivering big action on big stages, high stakes. He's the guy of basically the last few years, even maybe longer than that. And so real history on the line at UFC White House. This is what I mean. It's both one of these kinds of events as well as something else.

[Dan LeBatard (Host)]

I don't know your history, how you ended up in the Marines. When you were in your dorm room, had you already decided to become a Marine?

[Luke Thomas]

Yeah. So the way that worked was I actually, I joined when I was 17, still in high school, and the way it worked was I graduated high school on a Friday, and then I went to boot camp on a Monday, and I missed the first week of college because I went to William and Mary at that time, and because the Marine Corps boot camp is 13 weeks and I went to an artillery unit. Truly, I say this, Dan, with total. I don't know how else to say this. There's been a few things in my life that were really unlucky, but there's been a couple of things in my life that were insanely lucky. And what I mean is the unit that I went to was Hotel Battery 314, 4th Marine Division. This was just south of Richmond, Virginia. And the reason why this is relevant is because it was an artillery unit. Well, artillery at that time, we're talking late 90s, early 2000s, was being in the Marine Corps somewhat phased out. Now, they changed a little bit of this when ISIS came back to power because they had to shell them. But the point I'm trying to make is when 911 happened and then we invaded Afghanistan and then ultimately Iraq, they didn't have use for us. They had very little artillery that they needed because they were going house to house, quite literally. And whatever artillery needs that they had could be met by the Army. And so what ended up happening was I get out a few months later, 2004, I get out a few months later, my unit gets converted to a rifle company, and then they get sent to Fallujah to go do prisoner transport, which of course means they got shot every single time they left the base. I got to skip all of it by virtue of just how the Marine Corps was constructed. My mos, the whole nine yards. I consider not having to die for Dick Cheney and George Bush or be mentally affected by whatever you want to say. One of the truly great blessings of my life.

[Dan LeBatard (Host)]

Luke, you do a great job. Thank you for the time. Hope you're on with us again, sir.

[Luke Thomas]

Anytime, Dan.

[Dan LeBatard (Host)]

Now, Tony, you had such a good joke there. To end a really.

[Tony]

I talked to Luke on a semi regular basis about mma.

[Stugats]

Tony.

[Dan LeBatard (Host)]

Tony, I need you to back off.

[Mike]

So let's get the coaching.

[Dan LeBatard (Host)]

I need you to just back off. I understand that you want to be defensive about this. Mike has been trying to hold you.

[Stugats]

And while Luke was giving me his history in the Marines, I heard you say in my ear just the single F word, expletive. And I assume it's because Chris had replayed for you in there the sound of you trying to say whatever you were trying to say about Pereira to Luke Thomas. So before we play this sound, can you tell me now what you were trying to say?

[Tony]

He got what I was trying to say. And what I was trying to say was.

[Stugats]

I'm asking you to say.

[Tony]

What I was trying to say was. Alex is going for a historic thing, which is winning a championship in three different weight classes. Right? So that's what I was trying to ask him. What does that historically mean?

[Dan LeBatard (Host)]

Let's hear what you actually ended up saying.

[Tony]

Saying for a. A on just completely crazy. Three time champ belt champion in three different weight classes.

[Stugats]

What did you just say?

[Mike]

Look, that's good tape and bad tape. Because the joke, the timing. You slide.

[Tony]

The joke was even in there.

[Luke Thomas]

The joke was right in the beginning.

[Mike]

No, you slide in. You want to talk about danger and then like, that's a great setup. Just get right to it. But then you said too many words.

[Tony]

The issue is that the three.

[Stugats]

Tony, shut up for a second. Play it again, Chris.

[Tony]

For a. A Un. Just completely crazy, Three time champ belt champion in three different weight glasses.

[Stugats]

What did you just say?

[Mike]

It's an unfair edit.

[Stugats]

What do you mean?

[Mike]

You cut out the good part.

[Tony]

It's a great joke. I wanted to say, speaking of immigrants, Alex Pereira, I went with danger instead.

[Mike]

Yeah, you should. You should have said that too.

[Tony]

Which is why I got tripped up when I was asking the question. I was like, which one I'm gonna go with. And then I saw Dan staring at me and I was like, all right, I have six seconds to say a 13 second question. Three time champ back belt champion.

[Mike]

This is an opportunity to get better. That's what I like about it.

[Bucked Up Energy Drink Advertiser]

You know about that completely crazy three time belt champ.

[Tony]

I don't even want to hear from you. You say that six times a week.

[Mike]

What are you.

[Tony]

What are you on?

[Stugats]

They should give him, they should give him. If he wins, they should give him that completely crazy three time belt champion

[Tony]

belt crazy three time champ belt belt champion in. Miss me yet?

[Stugats]

Such a pathetic voice.

[Mike]

This is bad. Jeremy's dunking on us.

[Tony]

All he does is right on his little whiteboard over there.

[Stugats]

He's been funny today on the board. He's funny when he doesn't talk and I, well. But I don't think he's ever made a mistake as large as this one.

[Tony]

He has a 27 minute question. Completely crazy three time champ belt champion zazzle.

[Stugats]

What are your thoughts there in general as you delight more than most in Tony's failings?

[Bucked Up Energy Drink Advertiser]

I'm embarrassed for you, man. Luke Thomas. You think so?

[Tony]

I talked to him. I talked to him, you know, a

[Show Announcer]

couple times a year, semi regularly.

[Bucked Up Energy Drink Advertiser]

A sucker now.