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Welcome back to The Varsity. I’m John Ourand, and I definitely was
not keeping one eye on the Orioles’ dominating 8–2 win at Fenway this afternoon. (Three games under .500, but just one game out of the wild card…)

Early next week, my travel schedule takes me to New York for Game 3 at the Garden, where Trump and Mamdani will be in attendance. Then I’m off to the Hamptons for Jessica Reif Ehrlich’s great annual Media in Montauk event, where I’m moderating a Wednesday panel on the business of
sports media. If you’re there, make sure to say hello.

🚨 Pod alert: Swin Cash, the WNBA Hall of Famer and analyst on Amazon Prime, will join The Varsity this weekend to talk about the WNBA’s growth prospects, the business behind the NBA Finals, and her work championing women in sports business. Also, make sure you check out yesterday’s episode: ESPN’s Burke Magnus dove into the network’s relationships with various leagues. Listen
here and here.

In tonight’s issue, a close look at the remarkable trajectory of the UFC. It was banned in New York a decade ago, and now it’s setting up shop on the White House lawn. Indeed, every financial analyst I spoke with was effusive
in their praise for TKO and how they’ve grown that business. As usual on Thursdays, the story is available only to Inner Circle members, so be sure to upgrade here if you haven’t already. It’s more than worth it, and you can expense it.

Also mentioned in this issue: Dana White, Ilia Topuria, Justin Gaethje, Alex
Pereira, Ciryl Gane, Conor McGregor, Jon Jones, Brock Lesnar, Ronda Rousey, James Dolan, Leon Rose, Herb Simon, Cathy Engelbert, Roger Goodell, Jim Jordan, Ted Ullyot, Tony Petitti, Matt Norlander, David Ellison, Russell
Wilson, Kyle Long, Joe Rogan, Curry Baker, Brandon Ross, and more.

Puck fashion correspondent Lauren Sherman and a rotating cast of industry insiders take you deep behind the scenes of
this multitrillion-dollar biz, from creative director switcheroos to M&A drama, D.T.C. downfalls, and magazine mishaps. Fashion People is an extension of Line Sheet, Lauren’s private email for Puck, where she tracks what’s happening beyond the press releases in fashion, beauty, and media. New episodes publish every Tuesday and Friday.

Ace media reporter Dylan Byers brings readers into the C-suite as he chronicles the biggest stories in the industry:
the future of cable news in the streaming era, the transformation of legacy publishers, the tech giants remaking the market, and all the egos involved.