UFC-backed skateboarding tour leans into right-wing media ties

T he Street League Skateboarding (SLS) Championship Tour made a thrilling return last month in Chicago. The event showcased some of the world’s best skateboaders, including Brazilian Olympic silver medalists Kelvin Hoefler and Rayssa Leal, both of whom captured titles to kick off the 2023 season.

The season-opening event marked the latest initiative by Thrill One Sports & Entertainment group, whose portfolio that includes popular motorsport events such as Nitro Circus and Nitro Rallycross, as well as a variety of television shows. The company is co-owned by former UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta (through his private equity firm) and UFC president Dana White. It also includes investments from television producer Craig Piligian, who helped create The Ultimate Fighter, and former skateboarder Rob Dyrdek.

Thrill One marked the latest strategic acquisition for Fertitta, who is best known for having helped transform the UFC from an ostracized freak show dubbed “human cockfighting” into a multibillion-dollar property. The casino tycoon, who spent a reported $300m with his co-investors to buy Thrill One in July 2022, plans to use the “UFC playbook” to grow the company.

“That’s creating a better product, making it more consumer-friendly, and bringing the product back into arenas,” Fertitta told Sports Illustrated in April 2023. “That also includes better distribution and doing a better job promoting the upcoming events using a lot of the same tactics we used to promote with fights in the UFC.”

Apart from utilizing tried-and-tested tactics, Thrill One has also reached agreements to stream its events on Rumble, an online video platform popular among the American right and far-right users. Rumble also hosts Truth Social, the social