To a standing ovation and applause from thousands of people, Donald Trump entered a UFC fight on Saturday night. He gave supporters a handshake and was surrounded by fans waving his Maga hat. Joe Rogan, a podcast host seated to the president’s right, was greeted by Trump as soon as he entered. Elon Musk was seated opposite Donald Trump. To the tune of “Taking Care of Business,” Trump raised his fist in the air while sporting a bright yellow tie that went well with his dark suit. The Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the director of the FBI, Kash Patel, the director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, and the White House communications aides Steven Cheung and Taylor Budowich were among the members of Trump’s administration and White House team who attended. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Senator Ted Cruz also joined Trump at the event.
Trump, who has been close to Dana White for decades, entered the arena with him. He was also accompanied by his granddaughter, Kai Trump, the daughter of Donald Trump Jr.
Throughout the fight, the UFC jumbotron frequently featured the president, drawing roars from the sold-out arena. Trump briefly danced to the Village People’s YMCA while standing from his seat, eliciting enthusiastic applause from the audience. Trump would occasionally lean in to speak with Musk, who at times carried his son on his shoulders, and would occasionally shake hands with people who came up to him in the middle of a fight. However, he mostly stayed seated, acknowledging and speaking to fighters who approached the ringside netting to greet the president.
Trump has frequently attended major fights and is an avid sports and UFC fan. The mixed martial arts fight at Miami’s Kaseya Center was Trump’s first UFC visit since he took office in January, and it came weeks after Trump attended the Saudi-sponsored LIV golf tournament at his golf club in Miami.
Trump has also attended the Daytona 500 and the Super Bowl since taking office. He sat cage side at a UFC championship fight in New York City last November, shortly after he won the 2024 election.
Aside from the president, the main fight at UFC 314 was a championship matchup between Brazilian fighter Diego Lopes and Australian champion Alexander Volkanovski, who were fighting for the featherweight title. It’s the fourth UFC event in Miami, in a county that supported the president by about 11 percentage points in the November election.
The fight went to Volkanovski, who won by unanimous decision. The president arrived in West Palm Beach on Friday for his 10th visit to South Florida since he became president, spending the evening in his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach. He flew to Miami after playing golf at his club in West Palm Beach.
“You know who’s going to win? “White, Dana Dana White is going to win,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Saturday night. Before the November election, he made promoting hypermasculine tones a signature of his 2024 presidential campaign, which benefited from his close affiliation with the UFC.
