Trump to trade the Oval Office for The Octagon with UFC appearance
The president is set to attend UFC 314 in Miami, where Australian Alexander Volkanovski is set to take on Diego Lopes of Brazil in the featherweight title bout.
His attendance at the late-night fight underscores his reemergence in the American pop cultural mainstream as he deploys the trappings of office to attend some of the nation's premier sporting events. It also highlights his long and loyal ties to the UFC organization and its CEO, Dana White, and the alignment between the mixed martial arts brand and the young men who propelled Trump back to the White House.
With the exception of nearly weekly trips to his Mar-a-Lago property in South Florida, the president's domestic travel has been rare during his second term. But since taking office, he has flown aboard Air Force One to attend the Super Bowl in New Orleans, the Daytona 500 in Daytona Beach, and the NCAA men's wrestling championships in Philadelphia.
His warm reception at those events has emphasized his transformation from a pariah and punchline of American popular culture back to the status he enjoyed during his 'Apprentice' days.
'President Trump and the UFC are cultural icons. He is a fan of the sport and the elite competitive spirit of all the athletes who step into the Octagon,' White House communications director Steven Cheung told CNN.
Cheung added, 'He'll be sitting cage side, like he always does, and the crowd will erupt in applause as he makes his signature walkout.'
Trump, who has long styled himself a 'fighter,' successfully tapped into the male-oriented podcast sphere during his 2024 campaign, boosting his turnout among low-propensity voters as he and top surrogates leaned into interviews with host Joe Rogan, Barstool Sports' 'Bussin' With The Boys,' and Andrew Schulz's 'Flagrant,' among others – offering listeners long-form, unfiltered and un-fact-checked conversations.
Many male-oriented podcasters discuss physical fitness, promote traditional traits of masculinity and often share a deep appreciation for mixed martial arts, specifically UFC.
Founded in 1993, UFC has emerged as a mainstream, major sporting organization in recent years — in parallel, in some ways, to Trump's political ascendance. In 2019, the sport announced a deal with the Walt Disney Company to broadcast its 'Fight Night' events on ESPN+, and UFC broadcasts now reach an estimated 975 million households across 170 countries, according to a recent press release.
Trump has supported the brand for decades, most recently attending a UFC event shortly after his November election victory at New York City's Madison Square Garden, where he was cheered upon his arrival to a ringside seat, feted with a special video celebrating his win, and flanked by White, Kid Rock, House Speaker Mike Johnson, Tucker Carlson and Donald Trump Jr.
Like with many of the president's closest allies, Trump's longtime friendship with the UFC CEO is one forged in loyalty.
In White's early days with the organization, he was struggling to secure venues for his fights. Trump agreed to host the event at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City in 2001.
'Nobody wanted to give him a ring because they said it's a rough sport, a little rough. And I helped him out a little bit and I went and they said, 'This is the roughest sport I've ever seen.' But I began to like it and he loved it, and nobody's done a better job in sports,' Trump said during his 2024 victory speech in West Palm Beach as White joined the new president-elect's nearest and dearest onstage.
White emerged as a key surrogate for Trump in 2024 as his campaign sought to bolster its appeal to young men. UFC has a plugged-in fan base on and offline — boasting tens of millions of followers on social media. One of its biggest stars, Conor McGregor, has 46.7 million Instagram followers.
So when the time came for the then-former president to select someone to introduce him at the Republican National Convention in July 2024, Trump, who was introduced by daughter Ivanka in 2020 and wife Melania in 2016, went with White.
'I'm in the tough guy business, and this man is the toughest, most resilient human being that I've ever met in my life,' White said in his remarks, calling Trump a 'real American bada**.'
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The Packers finished four games behind the NFC North champions in 2024 after totaling 11 wins. According to Gemini, that same win total will be enough to grant them a home playoff game in 2025. The chatbot is expecting a big year for Jordan Love and likes the Matthew Golden draft pick, adding that improving on a 1-5 record in division games will be enough to put them in the top spot. Detroit, on the other hand, is primed for a setback this season. That is thanks in large part to the staffing changes following the departures of both coordinators, Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn. After injuries claimed many roster players last year, this will be a Lions group that faces some new challenges in a division that provides no soft landing spot. As if losing the coordinators wasn't bad enough, the Lions will have to watch as Johnson takes over for their rivals in Chicago. 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Arizona's defense should make some significant strides; however, this team goes as far as Kyler Murray takes them. That is evidenced by the extreme highs and lows that the Cardinals seem to experience every year. If he can find some consistency, this team can be in the hunt. Our last stop on our tour around the NFL and the NFC West is Seattle. The Seahawks will have a new look in 2025, highlighted by the arrivals of Darnold and Cooper Kupp. It remains to be seen if Darnold can replicate the magic he found in Minnesota last season, leaving the Seahawks as an unknown. They are remaking the team with Mike Macdonald's vision in mind, turning the page from the Carroll era. The chatbot expects flashes, but not a lot of consistency. We tend to agree.
