UFC 250 and True Strength
Billie Jean King once said that sports are a microcosm of society. Regardless of whether or not you're an athlete or a fan, we learn a lot about ourselves by tuning in to ESPN or going to Wrigley. What we deem to be fair, celebratory, and courageous on a court or field demonstrates what we value in all of life.
When one of my children knocks over another player on the soccer pitch, I usually ask them to help the kid up and make sure they're okay. I know they're fine, but a lesson learned in a game teaches us how to behave in real life.
Maybe that's why I've been thinking about UFC Freedom 250 so much this week.
On Sunday, the South Lawn of the White House played host to a mixed martial arts (MMA) fight. It was in celebration of President Trump's 80th birthday and the 250th anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence. Nearly 5,000 people were in attendance (mostly celebrities and military), over 80,000 watched in nearby "President's Park," and while official streaming numbers haven't been released yet, they will undoubtedly be in the tens of millions.
Plenty of people have voiced both deep concern and high praise for the event. (Imagine that—the country is divided about this.) Others simply disregarded the spectacle entirely. Yet, as followers of Jesus, regardless of your political affiliation or affinity for the president, I think we have an opportunity to think deeply about what this event reveals about the moment we live in and what we value. Remember, there's something in this event, like all of sport, that tells us about us.
MMA is not my favorite sport. But one of my college roommates competed in the World Series of Fighting in the middleweight division for a few years after college. He was really good. And, he loved Jesus. The combination was always perplexing to me. He's genuinely one of the nicest people I've known, and he punched people in the face for a living. Somehow, he harmonized a brutal sport with a loving savior.
Perhaps that's what I found so unsettling about Sunday's spectacle. My discomfort had less to do with the sport itself and more to do with the coarse rhetoric, the unabashed peacocking, and the conflation of brute force with national identity and pride. There was no tenderness.
What my friend taught me is that strength and tenderness belong together. They don't just balance each other out; strength shows us in tenderness, and tenderness is strength.
A couple of weeks ago, I read in Isaiah, "Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young" (Isaiah 40:10-11). God comes with might as a shepherd tending his flock. Strength and tenderness.
God's character and his embodiment of authority through gentleness are meant to shape our everyday lives. The psychologist Dan Allender calls this true strength. "True strength," he writes, "must be courageous enough to confess cowardice and tender enough to admit self-absorption" (Leading with a Limp, 180). Strength isn't the absence of weakness; it's the willingness to step into the light. Tenderness isn't passivity; it's an openness to God's Spirit.
I know, this was just a sporting event and a political party. But sport is a microcosm of society. And if that's the case, then we are people who have a deeply broken view of power. So, as always, we must look to the cross. When we see the Incarnate God on Calvary, we don't see a spectacle of worldly ambition and hubris. We see strength and tenderness. Jesus could have called legions of angels to prevent his death. Instead, he allowed death to swallow him. The Good Shepherd tends his flock by dying for them.
Jason Helveston
Elder for Teaching and Vision
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END NOTES
Billie Jean King on Sports: Tennis legend Billie Jean King has frequently advocated that sports are a reflection of human culture and a driver of social change. Through organizations like the Women's Sports Foundation, she has championed the idea that the boundaries we push and the values we uphold on the playing field inevitably shape our broader society.
UFC Freedom 250: This event, hosted on the South Lawn of the White House, was organized to coincide with both President Trump's 80th birthday and the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in July 2026.
World Series of Fighting (WSOF): The WSOF was a prominent mixed martial arts promotion based in Las Vegas. In 2017, it was restructured and rebranded as the Professional Fighters League (PFL), which continues to be one of the premier MMA organizations in the world.
Dan Allender: The quote regarding true strength and tenderness comes from Dr. Dan Allender's excellent book, Leading with a Limp: Take Full Advantage of Your Most Powerful Weakness. Allender argues that embracing our vulnerabilities actually makes us more authentic and capable leaders.
Strength and Tenderness in Scripture: For those wanting to explore the biblical tension between strength and tenderness further, look at Revelation 5:5–6. John is told to look at the victorious "Lion of the tribe of Judah," but when he turns, he sees a "Lamb, looking as if it had been slain." God's ultimate display of world-conquering power is found in the ultimate display of vulnerable tenderness.
