Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White recently appeared on the Fox News program “Unfiltered”, telling host Dan Bongino how the promotion has garnered a much larger following in recent years by distancing itself from the ideals of “woke” culture.
Dana White via The Mac Life YouTube
During the interview, White also discussed how fight fans reacted to former President Donald Trump’s appearance at UFC 287. Number 45 drew a huge response from the crowd and got a shout-out from retiring star Jorge Masvidal. Following his loss, Gamebred delivered his goodbye speech to the fans and acknowledged Trump, calling him “the greatest President in the history of the world.”
Bongino asked about the crowd’s reaction when the former Commander-Chief entered the arena, who then took a seat with fellow special guests like Mike Tyson and Kid Rock. Dana White says it was an incredibly unique experience.
“It’s insane, you know, if you think about this, I’ve been doing this for, like, 23 years. When you’re walking with Trump, it’s a whole other level, man. The entire place erupted. Everybody was going crazy, and it was fun.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3a2j60Y3sZQ
Dana White stated that UFC’s strategy during the COVID crisis to grow the business, saying the organization was the first major sport to fill stadiums again. Despite criticism from political groups and activists – Ultimate Fighting Championship, along with new corporate partner World Wrestling Entertainment – presented events from areas like Florida where safeguarded events were still allowed to take place.
“When all the COVID bans were being lifted, it grew our business, I don’t know, like 70% or something like that, because we were the only thing to watch,” Dana White told Dan Bongino.
He then told the host that it was a reflection of the promotion’s mentality, saying the UFC doesn’t “do anything woke over here”.