Despite an increasing amount of scrutiny on the UFC president’s incendiary Twitter account from political journalists around the world, Dana White still made his way to the RNC stage in Ohio to back his friend, Donald Trump. The two men go way back to when the UFC was a fledgling promotion and MMA was illegal in half of the United States. According to White, Trump backed the UFC’s early efforts to find venues for their shows by allowing them to use Trump’s Taj Mahal casino. Fifteen years later, the UFC president took the stage on-stage at the Republican National Convention to sing the praises of the party’s nominee.
“I’m sure most of you are wondering, ‘what are you doing here?’ I am not a politician, I am a fight promoter. But I was blown away and honored to be invited here tonight and I wanted to show up to tell you about my friend, Donald Trump. The Donald Trump that I know,” he shouted.
Dana went on to explain how MMA was considered a blood sport when he first took over the UFC, and no one would take him seriously. That is, no one other than Donald Trump.
“Donald Trump was the first guy that recognized the potential that we saw in the UFC, and encouraged us to build our business,” White said. “He hosted our first two events (under Zuffa ownership which were UFC 30-31), he dealt with us personally, he got in the trenches with us and he made a deal that worked for everyone… Donald championed the UFC before it was popular, before it grew into a successful business and I will always be so grateful to him for standing with us in those early days. So tonight, I stand with Donald Trump.”
Coverage on the RNC speaker was mixed to say the least.
Dana White's case for Trump: He's my friend and he's nice to me. And the PBS crew seems … bemused? By his mere presence? Strange times.
— Ben Fowlkes (@benfowlkesMMA) July 20, 2016
https://twitter.com/jnsanchez/status/755560777755430913
We should vote for Donald Trump because he writes nice notes to the president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Got it. #RNCinCLE
— igorvolsky (@igorvolsky) July 20, 2016
https://twitter.com/bustedcoverage/status/755561386738987008
Dana White is speaking at the Republican National Convention right now. Opened up with “What’s up GOP?!"
— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) July 20, 2016
Remember when the UFC counter-programmed Trump-backed Affliction eight years ago today?
— Chuck Mindenhall (@ChuckMindenhall) July 20, 2016
With the recent sale of the UFC, Dana White just jumped into Trump’s tax bracket. White is said to have made close to $400 million in the sale, and still retains partial ownership of the fight league.
