Dana White has revealed that fight obsessed Donald Trump calls him most Saturday nights to talk about UFC events.
The former president has been good friends with White – the CEO of the world-famous MMA promotion – for well over 20 years after hosting two UFC events at his now-defunct Atlantic City casino in the early 2000s.
Over the past two decades White has repaid the American tycoon by remaining loyal to him throughout his various political campaigns, even speaking at several Republican National Conventions to endorse him as US president.
White recently revealed that Trump even called him just an hour before September’s debate against vice president Kamala Harris.
Now, in an exclusive interview with Mail Sport, White has revealed just how much Trump loves combat sports and how he regularly calls his friend to dissect fights.
‘People don’t realize how big of a fight fan Trump is,’ White laughed.
‘He’s been with us since the early days, and he still watches every event. He is so knowledgeable about the fight game and loves it.
‘Every time he’s flying on his plane, or he’s home on a Saturday, he’s watching UFC fights or boxing.
‘He was very key and instrumental in the early days of boxing, he put on big fights at his Trump Tower, from the likes of (Mike) Tyson… you name it.
‘He has never told me who his favorite fighter is, but you know, pretty much every weekend, he’ll call me after an event and want to talk about the fights.’
During an appearance on the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast earlier this month, Trump insisted there is no one who could do what White does in the UFC.
‘There’s nobody like him,’ he said about White. ‘You always say that everybody’s replaceable, [but] I don’t think anybody can do what he does. He’s built billions of dollars of value. There’s nobody like this guy.
‘He’s just a fantastic person and he’s so loyal. I’ve known him a long time and he’s never changed, he’s just an incredible guy and he really understands that business.’
Trump is convinced that his buddy could even venture outside of combat sports if he wishes to.
‘I think he could probably do something else,’ he continued about White before adding, ‘although his enthusiasm is so… I mean, he’s going to a fight and it’s like the first fight he’s ever gone to. He’s so enthusiastic.’
Less than two weeks out from the presidential election, White ramped up his support for Trump by taking aim at his Harris earlier this month.
The MMA boss launched a scathing attack on Harris after her appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, saying her potentially presidency should ‘scare the s***’ out of people.
Sharing a clip of the Democratic leader giving a rambling answer to Colbert upon being asked what she’d change if she wins next month’s election, White wrote: ‘I don’t like to post a lot of political content, but this clip should scare EVERYONE.
‘She is the sitting VP and running for President of the United States. She is incapable of putting a sentence together without a teleprompter and even she appears to know she is in way over her head.
‘This election is very important and this along with the many other clips of her attempting to answer questions should SCARE THE S*** OUT OF YOU!!!’
White also revealed that Trump called him shortly before September’s debate against Harris.
‘He called me an hour before the debate,’ White revealed.
‘I don’t know how it went or what happened, but I know he took it seriously.
‘He said: “I look at this like a heavyweight fight. I’m not taking anybody lightly”.’
White added: ‘I talked to him when I was coming here, right when we got off the plane. I was in LA today.’
