UFC CEO Dana White To Endorse ‘Amazing’ Ex-President Donald Trump At 2024 RNC

Dana White and the 45th President still remain tight.

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Milwaukee, get ready for a semi-UFC reunion nearly six years in the making.

UFC CEO Dana White will be appearing at the Republican National Convention on behalf of former president and 2024 Republican nominee Donald Trump Thursday at the Fiserv Forum, home of the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks, as part of a four-day ordeal from July 15-19.

Wall Street Journal was first to report the news Wednesday.

The impromptu trip should come as no surprise to fans and followers of White, Trump and the UFC. It has been well-established that Trump and White’s relationship dates back to the early 2000s when the UFC had just been purchased by Zuffa LLC from Semaphore Entertainment Group and the promotion was still attempting to get sanctioned by state athletic commissions in Feb. 2001.

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Dana White Has Long-Standing Relationship With 45th U.S. President

Trump allowed the UFC to host a handful of shows at the Trump Taj Mahal (UFC 30/UFC 31) before it started hosting fights more consistently across New Jersey around 2004 and New York City beginning eight years ago.

Jun 28, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; UFC president Dana White (center) separates Ricky Simon (left) from Vinicius Oliveira during weigh ins for UFC 303 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The East Coast is now a staple of annual UFC events, as the promotion has traveled to Madison Square Garden every November (omitting COVID in 2020) since Conor McGregor became a two-division champion at UFC 205.

White told entertainment outlet Variety last month that the outside world doesn’t fully understand the relationship he and Trump have.

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"There’s lots of misconceptions about Donald Trump. I’ve had this incredible relationship with him for many years. You know, when we first bought [the UFC], the stigma was so bad with the UFC that venues didn’t even want us. He reached out, cut a deal, showed up to the first fight, stayed to the last fight.”

- UFC CEO Dana White, via Variety

White said he has now known Trump for over two decades and remains firm he will never disparage the 78-year-old regardless of legal situations, election fraud, or anything of the relation. White called Trump “amazing” as a friend. 

Dana White Has Previous RNC Speaking Engagement Experience

White spoke at the 2016 RNC and endorsed Trump virtually during the 2020 election, one of the most heightened years in world history due to the pandemic.

White and Trump have maintained a close relationship for years. / (Getty Images)

As for the UFC, the speech will come right before Trump accepts his GOP and just two days after UFC Denver, which will see Rose Namajunas fight Tracy Cortez in a five-round flyweight main event on ESPN and ESPN+. The main card begins at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, preceded by the undercard portion at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

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At press time, the promotion has no plans to return to Wisconsin, as the last event held in Milwaukee concluded the UFC’s seven-year deal with FOX before transitioning to ESPN in Jan. 2019.

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