UFC president Dana White issues three-word response to sponsor over Donald Trump request

The former US president sat with White at UFC 295 on Saturday, as the MMA promotion visited New York City

Alex Pattle
Combat Sports Correspondent
Wednesday 15 November 2023 10:01 EST
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Donald Trump arrives at UFC 295 alongside Dana White and Kid Rock

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UFC president Dana White reportedly told a sponsor to ‘go f*** yourself’, after they asked him to remove a social-media post showing Donald Trump at last week’s fight card.

Former US president Trump has attended numerous UFC events in recent years and was present at UFC 295 on Saturday (11 November), as the mixed martial arts promotion staged a card in New York City.

Trump, who was already in the city due to his ongoing civil fraud trial, entered Madison Square Garden to the sound of cheers, accompanied by White, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, and rockstar Kid Rock.

Speaking on a podcast hosted by comedian Theo Von, White said on Tuesday (14 November): “I posted a video of Trump on my personal social media. One of our big sponsors called and said, ‘Take that down.’ You know what I said? ‘Go f*** yourself.’

“You vote for whoever you want to vote for, and I’ll vote for whoever I want to vote for. That’s how this works. I don’t even care who you’re voting for, it’s none of my f***ing business. F*** you. Don’t ever f***ing call me and tell me who to vote for.

“I’m at a point now in my life and my career where I want to be with people that I’m aligned with. It’s not just about the money; it is about the money, because it’s a sponsorship deal, but it’s not just [about the money]. I’m not going to take a bigger offer if it’s not something that I am aligned with and I don’t 100 per cent believe in.

“When you do a sponsorship deal with somebody, you have to look deep into who they are and who’s running the company, who’s making the decisions, and are you aligned?”

White, 54, is a known supporter of Trump and has spoken at the 77-year-old’s election rallies in the past.

Trump served as US president from 2017 until 2021 and is eyeing another electoral run in 2024.

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