Whether you’re a fan of Donald Trump or not, you can’t help but appreciate the man’s unabashed love for the UFC.
The 45th President of the United States shocked fans inside the T-Mobile Arena earlier this month when he walked through the tunnel to take in the action at UFC 290. Sitting cageside, Trump got a front-row seat to some spectacular matchups, including the crowning of a new flyweight world champion, Alexandre Pantoja.
Prior to the event, Trump sat down with Jim Norton and Matt Serra on a new episode of UFC Unfiltered to discuss his history with the promotion, his friendship with Dana White, and his genuine appreciation for the sport.
“I get to watch as much as I can. It’s highly competitive stuff, you know that better than anyone,” Trump said, directing his comment toward former UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra.
Serra responded, noting Trump’s appearance in the very early days of the promotion, specifically UFC 32 in East Rutherford, New Jersey when ’45’ showed up as a fan to take in the action at the Continental Airlines Arena. A month prior, the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City hosted UFC 31 featuring mixed martial arts legends, including Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, Pat Miletich, and BJ Penn.
“We had a really rough card. That first one was rough,” Trump added. “In fact, I’m not even sure… It was so rough, but it was great. I don’t know if that helped them or not because anybody who saw that would say that is a dangerous world, but it was incredible. Yeah, I’ve gone to numerous fights and I’ll be going to [UFC 290], but I’ve been to some great UFC fights.”
Certified diehard since before some fighters were even born!
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) July 24, 2023
Don't sleep on President Trump's MMA Fandom!#UFCUnfiltered available NOW on #UFCFIGHTPASS! pic.twitter.com/NfUWEJf2F9
Donald Trump Praises Jorge Masvidal, Kamaru Usman, and Not So Much Colby Covington
Donald Trump even offered up some love to some UFC superstars who happen to be diehard fans of the MAGA movement. The first was Jorge Masvidal, who Trump even credited for his strong showing in the state of Florida during the 2020 election.
“Jorge Masvidal… You know why I love him? I love people that like me, he liked me,” Trump said. “He’s a guy from Cuba, who got left alone in life at nine years old… “Jorge’s a great guy, and he was campaigning for me. He was a big fan of mine, politically. And I’ll tell you, it had a big difference, I did phenomenally well in Miami and in all of Florida with the Hispanic population, and I credit a lot of that to Jorge, so we love Jorge.”
Trump also mentioned former welterweight world champion Kamaru Usman, though the ex-President noted that he was only saying nice things about the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ as a showing of reciprocity.
“This sport is interesting. I watched Usman. I think he’s a terrific guy, by the way,” Trump continued. “Terrific person and I only say that because when people say nice about me, I say nice about them, but he is a terrific [person] and a fantastic fighter.”
Colby Covington is sobbing right now pic.twitter.com/nMMzQUS4SQ
— Ben Davis (@BenTheBaneDavis) July 24, 2023
Oddly enough, the last man on Trump’s list was perhaps his most outspoken supporter in the world of mixed martial arts, Colby Covington.
‘Chaos’ has carved out a career by playing up his role as a MAGA-loving know-it-all, so it must have been a little disheartening to find out that the former President doesn’t even know his first name. In the clip below, Trump can be heard repeatedly referring to Colby Covington and “Coby” whilst labeling him as simply “a MAGA guy.”
Colby’s entire character is worshipping Trump just for him to praise Usman and Masvidal first and then call him Coby lmao 😭 pic.twitter.com/4jkb4BoRIw
— Miguel (@HorusReed) July 24, 2023
