Has Donald Trump replaced Drake and the cover of Sports Illustrated as the biggest curse in sports?

As several UFC fans noted online, the President’s favorite fighters and others who are vocally supportive of Trump have struggled in the Octagon.

Bo Nickal, the latest fighter to fall by second-round TKO to former ONE Championship star Reinier de Ridder at UFC Fight Night in Iowa, drew attention for his performance. Prior to the event, Nickal garnered praise from former President Trump during a highly publicized pre-election interview with podcaster and UFC announcer Joe Rogan. Trump described Nickal as terrific, acknowledging his skill and talent in the octagon.

This comes after UFC 314, where vocal Trump supporters Michael Chandler and Bryce Mitchell both failed to go the distance. For Mitchell, an Arkansas native who said he’d ‘take a bullet and die’ for Trump, it was his first fight since going unpunished for his praise Adolf Hitler.

And it’s not just MMA. Trump’s support of Team USA at the NHL’s Four Nations tournament and the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX both ended in disappointment, none of which can really be blamed on the President, although that’s not stopping his critics.

‘Bryce Mitchell, Michael Chandler, and now Bo Nickal,’ wrote sports blogger Karim Zidan on X. ‘Glorious to see Trump’s favs getting slept. Actually making the sport tolerable again.’

President Donald Trump attends the UFC 314 event alongside UFC President and CEO Dana White at Kaseya Center on April 12 in Miami

Reinier de Ridder of The Netherlands punches Bo Nickal in their middleweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Wells Fargo Arena on Saturday

Michael Chandler reacts after a TKO loss against Paddy Pimblett of England in a lightweight bout during the UFC 314 event at Kaseya Center on April 12

Zidan was quickly reminded of Colby Covington’s December defeat to Joaquin Buckley. Covington, who shares mutual admiration with Trump, suffered his fourth defeat in his last six bouts due to a cut over his right eye.

‘Damn, I did forget that!’ he added.

‘Could not agree more,’ another responded before mentioning a hypothetical matchup between Tom Aspinall and Trump-supporting UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones. ‘Aspinall icing Jones would be the absolute cherry on top.’

Jones did win in front of Trump in November, beating Stipe Miocic at Madison Square Garden shortly after the Republican’s electoral victory.

Then there was MAGA boxer Rod Salka, who wore ‘America First’ trunks for a bout against Mexico’s Francisco Vargas during Trump’s first term in office, only to throw in the towel in the sixth round. Beyond Salka’s pro-Trump message on his waistband, his shorts also had a brick-wall theme, in reference to the President’s now-abandoned border wall proposal. 

Bryce Mitchell, who has praised Adolf Hitler, said he would ‘take a bullet and die’ for Trump

Not all Trump supporters are doomed in the Octagon, as Jon Jones proved at MSG last year

But for a President who associates himself with athletic greats like Wayne Gretzky, Trump hasn’t had too many sporting victories to celebrate. 

He doted on Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his ‘beautiful wife’ Brittany ahead of Super Bowl LIX, where his prediction for a Kansas City threepeat was spoiled by the Philadelphia Eagles. Then there was the NHL’s Four Nationals tournament, where a groundswell of patriotic fervor gave way to a demoralizing loss to Team Canada following Trump’s pre-game pep talk to the Americans. 

‘And just like that tRump (sic) screws over yet another team…..everything he touches dies!’ one fan wrote on X following the Four Nations final.

‘TRUMP PICKS CHIEFS: CHIEFS LOSE. TRUMP PICKS TEAM USA: USA LOSE,’ another posted, spelling out the conspiracy theory.

‘Everything Trump Touches Dies,’ a third chimed in, alongside a GIF of fans waving a Canadian flag.

And long before he ran for President, Trump misfired on the 2004 American League Championship Series as the Boston Red Sox came back from an 0-3 deficit to beat the New York Yankees and his personal friend, late team owner George Steinbrenner. 

‘Oh, you have to respect them,’ Trump said of the Red Sox prior to Game 7. ‘I mean they’ve had great fight, great comeback, and now we’ll see if they can take it all the way. But the Yankees are the Yankees and George is a winner.’

The Red Sox would complete the first 0-3 comeback in postseason history later that night.