Dana White has been selling false narratives about his relationship with Donald Trump for a decade. The portrayal suggests that Donald Trump was integral in giving the fledgling sport of MMA a chance when no one else wanted to be near it. The truth is, Trump and the UFC reached their success stories entirely independent of one another. In fact, Trump was most active in working with the competition against the UFC directly. They only became allies once each needed something the other could provide. As we gear up for the UFC White House event, Freedom 250, let’s take a factual look at their history.
The Claim: Donald Trump Helped Save the UFC
As a company, the UFC was struggling in the late 90s and early 2000s. Most video stores would not allow their VHS tapes to be rented, and they were largely banned on pay-per-view television. Spike TV took a massive risk putting the reality show The Ultimate Fighter on mainstream television. It was a reality show but with MMA, a Trojan horse to put fighting on US primetime TV. From there, Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture, and Forrest Griffin, helped propel the UFC to mainstream stardom in the USA.
The Ultimate Fighter was the driving force behind the UFCs success, at least according to Dana White. In 2020, UFC leader White said:
“Our last hope was a new network called Spike. They were supposed to be a network for men. So we felt like we fit perfectly there. We met with the guys out in L.A. They couldn’t wait to get the hell out of that meeting and go to a Dodgers game… This is the last shot. If this thing doesn’t work, the UFC is done. It’s amazing to think… how close we came to not being here today. If it weren’t for what these guys did, I don’t know if there would even be a UFC. I’ll never forget these guys. Ever.”
Now, here’s the claim directly from Dana White himself, rewriting the history of the UFC to support Trump:
“Arenas around the world refused to host our events. Nobody took us seriously. Nobody. Except Donald Trump. Donald was the first guy that recognized the potential that we saw in the UFC.”
Let’s take a closer look at this claim and break down why the narrative is completely false. Donald Trump hosted three UFC events between 2000 and 2001 at his Taj Mahal Casino, the Mark G. Etess Arena. Even during the fledgling era of the UFC, they still hosted 23 events between 2000-2004 with most of these being in the USA. Thus, the UFC was not struggling to find venues to book events even during its worst years.
White is also crediting Trump with helping the UFC with success. Trump hosted the UFC in 2001 yet White goes on to explain that the UFC was on death’s door before The Ultimate Fighter premiere in 2005. Plus, the UFC only sold roughly 3,000 tickets to the Trump-hosted event. While the next event, UFC 32 at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, not a Trump venue, sold four times that amount with 12,500 tickets. Simply, the UFC did not see any boost from working with Donald Trump. One can see evidence of this, given that they never worked together again after that.
Similarly, Trump did not want the UFC back as he was booking better guests at the casino. Right after the UFC, the Mark G. Etess Arena hosted Luciano Pavarotti, ZZ Top, and P!NK, among others. Simply, Trump did not want them back when he was booking mainstream names.
Mainstream Success
The UFC exploded into the collective consciousness of mainstream America thanks to 2005s The Ultimate Fighter. Ticket sales exploded as they explored brand new venues across the continental United States, plus routine stops at Las Vegas casinos. Dana White and his contingent of fighters were giving interviews and never once mentioned Donald Trump.
At the same time, Donald Trump found his most successful avenue. The hotels and casinos were doing well enough, but he also found a home on reality TV with 2004 The Apprentice. From there, Trump became a household name in America and made his media rounds. Eighteen appearances on The View and eight appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show, plus guest spots on Emmy Awards and SNL. He was enjoying mainstream fame and never once brought up the UFC despite MMA finding success.
Both found massive success stateside, independent of one another, and during their peak era they wanted nothing to do with each other. That was until Trump threw his hat in with the competition.
Affliction and Trump take on The UFC
The UFC was not the only show in town and had real competition. The main MMA show in the US could have ended up being another MMA promotion but the UFC was active in killing any potential competition. EliteXC and Strikeforce were on primetime CBS, the IFL was on Fox Sports, HD Net was supporting a host of combat sports around the globe. If you were a UFC fighter unhappy with your pay then there was plenty of free market competition to test your value. And this is exactly what Donald Trump, Michael Cohen, and Tom Atencio did with Affliction.
Affliction signed former UFC champions Tim Sylvia, Josh Barnett, Andrei Arlovski, and Vitor Belfort, plus future champ Robbie Lawler. It was a promotion centered around the all-time great Fedor Emelianenko, friend of Vladimir Putin, and the one fighter the UFC could not sign.
Donald Trump gave an interview explaining how they were going to take over the MMA market and will take out the UFC: “It probably will. … All the fighters want to be with us, and I think it probably will take over.”
The UFC ran hard and direct competition against Affliction, including putting their biggest name Anderson Silva in a live and free fight on Spike TV at the same time. They counter-programmed the next event with a rerun of a UFC pay-per-view on Spike TV. But, there was not to be a third event. Dana White celebrated the death of Trump’s Affliction by putting its name on a gravestone.
Masculinity Boost for Trump
Donald Trump and the UFC did not care for working with each other and spent more time as competitors. But in 2016, Trump hit the road as a presidential candidate and needed a boost for his masculinity. After all, he was a draft dodger who hung out with The View and Oprah, a coastal elite more associated with daytime television than locker rooms. He was more popular as a feature on the Emmy award show than he was with men.
The UFC opened its doors to help him look tough and they made up a false narrative along the way. He began making appearances cage-side at UFC events, especially in vital swing states such as Florida, with broadcasted walkouts like he was a fighter himself, surrounded by American flags.
During Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign had UFC leader White suggested that Trump change his media approach and instead start interviewing the manosphere. Sitting with live streamers and podcasters, the next era of media. White thanked the new media as he spoke on podium on election night, “I wanna thank the Nelk Boys, Adin Ross, Theo Von, ‘Bussin with the Boys,’ and last but not least, the mighty and powerful Joe Rogan!”
What does the UFC get for its relationship? Cutting of red tape. In 2025, the Paramount/Skydance merger requires FCC approval. Paramount’s parent owns CBS, which Trump was suing over 60 Minutes editing of an interview. Just weeks before the FCC votes, Trump’s settles the lawsuit for $16 million. Trump’s FCC then approves the Paramount/Skydance merger. Just 18 days after the FCC approval, the newly merged Paramount signs a 7-year, $7.7 billion deal to stream all UFC events on Paramount+.
Play The Game, the sports governance watchdog, put it bluntly: “White benefits from the association by maintaining close ties to a powerful political figure, which could offer networking advantages, regulatory goodwill, and protection.” To add, Trump has now purchased stock in the UFC parent company TKO just days ahead of the UFC White House event.
On June 14th, as Trump walks out to the cage on the White House lawn, remember: this isn’t a friendship. It’s a transaction. The UFC gets a $7.7 billion media deal and a regulatory environment that no competitor can touch. Trump gets the masculinity optics his political brand requires. Dana White gets to stand at the centre of both worlds. The myth of Trump saving the UFC was just the opening offer.
