UFC’s Dana White Eager To Introduce Donald Trump at RNC
MMA promoter calls former president the ultimate ‘American badass.’
UFC president, Dana White, makes his living promoting fighters, which is why he welcomes introducing Donald Trump on Thursday at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
The two have been friends for decades, and Mr. White’s admiration for the former president grew in the aftermath of the assassination attempt on Saturday during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
“I’ve been saying this forever about this guy,” Mr. White said on the Pat McAfee Show on Monday.
“He is one of the toughest most resilient human beings that I have ever met in my life. Everybody wants to act like a tough guy, right? Well when the (stuff) goes down, you find out who tough guys are and who tough guys are not. This guy is the legitimate ultimate American badass of all time.”
It might seem to be an unlikely pairing, the promoter of a mixed martial arts company and the business mogul, who became the 45th President. One wears a suit and the other a T-shirt. But Mr. White credits Mr. Trump for the rebirth of the Ultimate Fighting Championship after Las Vegas casino owners Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta bought the UFC in January 2001 for $2 million.
Mr. White, a long-time friend of the Fertitta brothers, managed Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz at the time and came on board as president and a minority owner. Despite the new ownership, the UFC had a terrible reputation for its lack of rules and plenty of spilled blood. With the late Senator John McCain emerging as a vocal critic, the UFC had trouble getting venues for its shows. Mr. Trump, an avid sports fan, called Mr. White and offered to host a UFC event at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City. UFC 30, the first under the new ownership, was held there on February 23, 2001, and UFC 31 followed on May 4. The UFC is now a billion-dollar business staging bouts all over the world featuring the biggest stars in MMA.
“We had a hard time finding venues,” Mr. White said on the Jimmy Kimmel show. “Trump literally called and said ‘Come to my place. Do the event here.’ We get there and it was the greatest setup for us. He showed up for the first fight and was there for the last fight, both times we went there.”
The relationship blossomed from there. Mr. White spoke at the 2016 and 2020 Republican National Convention, praising Mr. Trump’s loyalty and creating opportunities for All Americans. “Donald Trump is a fighter and I know he will fight for this country,” Mr. White said from the podium in 2016.
Mr. Trump continues to make frequent appearances at UFC events where he normally receives a warm reception and is supported publicly by several fighters like Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington.
Mr. Trump went to UFC 244 at Madison Square Garden in New York as President of the United States. He also attended UFC 296 in Las Vegas, UFC 299 in Miami, and UFC 302 in Newark last month, two days after he was found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records relating to a hush money payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
Despite his conviction, Mr. Trump received a standing ovation as he walked into the arena escorted by Mr. White as Kid Rock’s song “American Badass” boomed over the loudspeakers. Footage from that night from the Prudential Center was used for Mr. Trump’s first TikTok video.
“Everything that happened to me in my career, he would pick up the phone and congratulate me or send something,” Mr. White told Mr. Kimmel. “He’s always been a solid guy with me.”
Mr. White was on an airplane to Italy when he heard about the assassination attempt. He soon saw the now iconic photo of a bloodied Mr. Trump holding his fist in the air.
“This image perfectly reflects EXACTLY the man I know Donald Trump to be,” Mr. White wrote on Instagram. “He is the toughest, most resilient, AMERICAN BADASS on this planet. I hope the weak coward that shot him gets what he deserves, and I can’t WAIT to stand up on stage with him on Thursday and introduce him at the Republican National Convention and tell the WORLD exactly the character of the friend and man I KNOW!”
The shooter, identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, was shot and killed at the scene by the Secret Service. Corey Comperatore, a former fire chief from Buffalo Township, Pennsylvania, was shot and killed by one of the bullets fired from Mr. Crooks’s rifle.
