iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Luke Thomas @lukethomas.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Man, I can’t believe a prominent member of the MMA community used their celebrity to publicly endorse MAGA politics. How unusual.

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Luke Thomas @lukethomas.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

When I first started making the argument MMA was a vector for right-wing politics (esp. in Western Hemisphere), I got fierce blowback at the suggestion. Now it's conventional wisdom repeated in the Financial Times.

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Luke Thomas @lukethomas.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Combat sports is so odious and broken in 2026 that venues have to issue apologies for hosting Nazi kickboxing events.

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Luke Thomas @lukethomas.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

TKO/UFC is an unambiguously right-wing organization.

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Luke Thomas @lukethomas.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

The idea this is clear and unequivocal shorthand for calling this woman a harlot rather than underscoring the bizarre reality Trump left top diplomats on his plane while taking this woman with him separately is a sign few have serviceable listening or reading comprehension skills.

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Luke Thomas @lukethomas.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Imagine giving a single solitary fuck about this utterly manufactured pearl clutching from the party that has promoted, adored and elected the single most toxic, culturally debasing leader in modern U.S. history. Their rage means nothing other than what you allow it to mean.

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Luke Thomas @lukethomas.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

If you want to see how intertwined the UFC brand is with Trump, this sign is visible at an event currently taking place in Serbia. Of note, Trump's not there nor was it ever suggested he'd be there. The audience just knows a great way to get the message to Trump is to send it at a UFC event.

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Luke Thomas @lukethomas.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

MMA media is completely irredeemable.

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Luke Thomas @lukethomas.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

If you’re not in the MMA bubble and you’re wondering what Josh Hokit is saying in his first interview after calling Michelle Obama a man at the UFC’s White House event, the answer is not contemplating remorse. This is just what MMA is now.

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Luke Thomas @lukethomas.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

Another day in MMA: top bantamweight Umar Nurmagomedov (cousin of Khabib Nurmagomedov) posts this on social media.

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Luke Thomas @lukethomas.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

Biked by today. It’s still up, but being torn down. If you zoom in you can see the cats ears portion of the claw are slowly but surely being dismantled.

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Luke Thomas @lukethomas.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

Look at the color of the water they’re pumping out. It’s working a bit in the middle of the pool, but doesn’t seem like a lasting solution.

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Luke Thomas @lukethomas.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

It’s not hyperbole. Went down here myself. That thing is as green as it gets.

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Luke Thomas @lukethomas.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Part of the reason why covering MMA without being an insane and evil person feels so difficult: look at what regular MMA media are posting about Josh Hokit after the outrage at his Michelle Obama comments.

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Luke Thomas @lukethomas.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

UFC press release in my inbox.

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Luke Thomas @lukethomas.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

OH MY GOD. Trump is trying to **bribe** senators to approve the $1.8 billion slush fund by CUTTING THEM IN ON THE MONEY. This would be “the total collapse of the constitutional order that our country is built on,” says Liz Oyer, the former pardon attorney for the DOJ:

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Luke Thomas @lukethomas.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

DC friends! Come see @wkamaubell.bsky.social perform standup tomorrow night!

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Luke Thomas @lukethomas.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

One of the first places Trump appeared post Jan 6 or during legal proceedings from the Jack Smith case were UFC events. The timing of his UFC appearances matches his legal troubles. If he's making the rounds now, he’s grasping for an image boost.

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Luke Thomas @lukethomas.bsky.social · 05/01/2026

It has never been more important in my lifetime to support independent media than right now.

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Luke Thomas @lukethomas.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

NEW: @patrickwyman.bsky.social has a history podcast not on great leaders, but more common folk. The theme for this season? World slavery: “Power is inseparable from labor. Power is inseparable from work. Slavery, studying it, what it tells us, is just how inseparable those two things are.”

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Luke Thomas @lukethomas.bsky.social · 03/12/2025

(Almost) every week, I create a list of interesting stories or articles I read on a variety of topics. This week it's forever chemicals, Buffalo Bills stadium financing, why Hollywood should remake *bad* movies & thoughts on the male loneliness epidemic: lthomas.substack.com/p/what-i-rea...

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Luke Thomas @lukethomas.bsky.social · 25/10/2025

The replies to this will fry your brain.

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Luke Thomas @lukethomas.bsky.social · 24/10/2025

This interview is now UNLOCKED and open to all. I asked Khan about the FTC before her time investigating UFC twice but electing to not take action. What, if anything, can we infer from that? Here's what she said:

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Luke Thomas @lukethomas.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

Khan on gamers apologizing to her over her attempt to stop Microsoft purchasing Activision now that layoffs are here and prices have skyrocketed for Game Pass:

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Luke Thomas @lukethomas.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

I spoke to the former head of the FTC behind click to cancel rules, the attempted blocking of Microsoft buying Activision & much more: antitrust hero @linamkhan.bsky.social (full interview out tomorrow!). In this clip, she discusses TKO trying to legislate in exemptions to the Ali Act. 1/2

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Luke Thomas @lukethomas.bsky.social · 10/10/2025

NEW: I spoke to comedian @wkamaubell.bsky.social about why the Riyadh Comedy Festival resulted in so much controversy. “The reason why it’s a big deal is because their fans care. I think if it was only us snowflakes and social justice warriors, Bill Burr wouldn’t feel the need to address it.” 1/2

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Luke Thomas @lukethomas.bsky.social · 26/09/2025

Here’s what you need to know about UFC White House: it’s two events, not one, and nothing about it is politically neutral. READ: open.substack.com/pub/lthomas/...

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Luke Thomas @lukethomas.bsky.social · 25/09/2025

NEW: UFC White House is two events: a grandiose spectacle of historical MMA significance AND agitprop for an increasingly authoritarian government. It’s fine to just care about having good fights, but it’s also not a crime to notice this broader dual reality: lthomas.substack.com/p/ufc-white-...

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Luke Thomas @lukethomas.bsky.social · 05/09/2025

Can a new crop of Dem leaders fix the party? My interview with Bernie Sanders- endorsed @abdulelsayed.bsky.social is live: - Restoring Dem party priorities - Gaza genocide - Medicare for All - DC home rule and the filibuster - RFK and the CDC + more. WATCH: open.substack.com/pub/lthomas/...

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Luke Thomas @lukethomas.bsky.social · 02/09/2025

Frankly, this is the kind of media coverage MMA has earned itself.

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Luke Thomas @lukethomas.bsky.social · 29/08/2025

Is it bad for DC’s economy if Trump’s surge of police and National Guard kills foot traffic to essentially all DC neighborhoods where commerce is important?

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Luke Thomas @lukethomas.bsky.social · 25/08/2025

🚨What’s Trump doing to D.C.?🚨 I spoke with award-winning journalist @maustermuhle.bsky.social who covers D.C. affairs about the truth of what Trump is doing, what the impact on the city actually is and what might be next. Full interview on Substack: open.substack.com/pub/lthomas/...

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Luke Thomas @lukethomas.bsky.social · 21/08/2025

Spotted at Union Market this morning.

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Luke Thomas @lukethomas.bsky.social · 15/08/2025

MAGA when they have to wear seatbelts in DC:

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Luke Thomas @lukethomas.bsky.social · 03/08/2025

Trump got booed loudly by WWE fans at tonight's Summer Slam event.

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Luke Thomas @lukethomas.bsky.social · 02/08/2025

You'll hear lots of comparisons about our political moment to the movie 'Idiocracy' and wouldn't you know it, but YouTube is now letting you view the film *for free*. WATCH: youtu.be/0Tv5shB4Gg0?...

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Luke Thomas @lukethomas.bsky.social · 02/08/2025

Watch Pasha Osman brace so hard on this 410kg squat attempt that he starts pouring blood out from the pores on his scalp and forehead.

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Luke Thomas @lukethomas.bsky.social · 30/07/2025

Mark Zuckerberg's view on what's next in tech, particularly as it relates to breakthroughs or paradigm changes, is directly tied to whether he has a product that can sell you that vision.

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Luke Thomas @lukethomas.bsky.social · 15/07/2025

In thinking about Andrew Schultz's buyer's remorse on Trump, the reason why politicians like going on the podcasts of famous comedians is mostly because the comedians are gullible and will accept any claim made by a powerful actor without challenge. MORE: lthomas.substack.com/p/andrew-sch...

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Luke Thomas @lukethomas.bsky.social · 14/07/2025

Viewership stats for Taylor-Serrano 3 are in. The main event "scored an estimated average minute audience (AMA) of nearly 6 million (Live+1) global viewers from opening to closing bell." Netflix and MVP say it was the most watched women's sporting event of the year. MORE:

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Luke Thomas @lukethomas.bsky.social · 11/07/2025

Once again: immigration is a gift to this country. It shouldn’t take their abuse for folks to understand their value, but at least people are beginning to recognize it is central to who we are as a people.

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Luke Thomas @lukethomas.bsky.social · 10/07/2025

I asked Dean about Sec. of Agriculture Brooke Rollins's claim that the new Medicaid work requirements would be enough to replace deported farm immigrant labor. As you can imagine, it's a ludicrous idea with no backing in reality:

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Luke Thomas @lukethomas.bsky.social · 08/07/2025

The news UFC might host an event at the White House next July 4 was so bizarre, it took me a moment to process, but I put together this list of 10 takeaways. I keep seeing some say this proves UFC finally won over America, but I think that's totally wrong: lthomas.substack.com/p/ufc-white-...

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