President-elect Donald Trump, amid a stream of cabinet appointments and other preparations for his second term, jetted from Florida on Saturday night to turn UFC 309 into a personal election celebration, reveling in his first public appearance at a major sporting event since his victory and morphing the mixed martial arts card into a political rally.
Trump entered Madison Square Garden to loud cheers with a large entourage led by UFC president Dana White just before the start of the night’s pay-per-view event, which was headlined by a heavyweight championship fight between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic.
A sizzle reel for Trump then played in the arena. “I will fight for you and your family and your future with every breath in my body,” Trump said in the video.
It was a well-timed television moment for both leaders — Trump as he grinned, danced, and let loose, and White as the eternal salesman of $79.99 fight cards as the preliminary bouts wound down on ESPNews. The display also served as a dramatic escalation of the pomp and circumstance around Trump at UFC fights, where he has been a regular presence for years.
Trump brought several prospective members of his administration, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the former third-party rival nominated for secretary of Health and Human Services, and Tulsi Gabbard, the former Hawaii representative picked to be the director of national intelligence. Their appointments require Senate confirmation.
Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of Tesla and X who was one of Trump’s loudest backers and now plans to lead an initiative on government efficiency, also was in attendance, as was House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana. Musk sat next to Kid Rock, whose song “American Bad Ass” blared throughout Madison Square Garden for the group’s entrance.
Trump danced to “Y.M.C.A.” with his distinctive arm wave that he used at his campaign rallies during the song by Village People. He was greeted by a member of the production staff who wore a black hoodie with the large numbers “45” and “47” emblazoned in a stars and stripes font.
As Trump walked toward his seat, he opened his arms wide from about 20 feet away, then rushed forward to embrace Joe Rogan, the podcaster and UFC commentator who endorsed Trump and released an interview of him as early votes were being cast. He traded similar pleasantries with the other members of the broadcast team, the play-by-play commentator Jon Anik and Daniel Cormier, the former fighter who was once the chief rival of Jones. They congratulated him, for fans in the arena and viewers at home to see, him in the waning moments of the preliminaries.
The crowd was dotted with “Make America Great Again” hats and American flags. Several times, Trump pumped his fists as the crowd chanted “U-S-A.”
Had there not been an octagon with patches of blood on the canvas and fighters competing in mixed martial arts, the scene would have been indistinguishable from a political rally, much like the high-profile one Trump held at Madison Square Garden just before the election that included speakers who made racist and misogynistic remarks.
The fighters, who compete in a sport dependent on bombast and self-promotion, jockeyed for Trump’s attention and a chance to seize a piece of the moment for themselves.
Mauricio Ruffy, a Brazilian lightweight, leaped atop the cage in front of Trump and spent several moments talking with Trump in his octagon-side seat. Michael Chandler, who has spent months and months seeking a fight with Conor McGregor (“We wonder where you’ve been, Conor,” he taunted after losing to Charles Oliveira), left the octagon and headed straight to Trump and his entourage, embracing Trump as well as Trump’s sons Eric and Don Jr., as well as Kennedy and Gabbard.
“We need justice for P’Nut, right?” the lightweight Jim Miller said during a postfight interview with Rogan after winning with a choke, referring to a flap ahead of the election about a government agency confiscating a squirrel that was being claimed as a pet. He added: “Hopefully that DOGE cleans things up at the state level,” using the acronym for Musk’s initiative, which doubles as the name of a joke cryptocurrency.
“I like how you use your post-victory speech for a political rally,” Rogan retorted.
Security was heavy inside Madison Square Garden and in the busy train station that sits underneath, at an unusual level even compared with Trump’s past attendance at UFC fights in the same venue.
Trump’s history with mixed martial arts is long, as is his friendship with White, who was on stage at the election party earlier this month when Trump celebrated his successful campaign against Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee and vice president. He stood on his feet as Jones made his way to the ring to “The Champ Is Here” by Jadakiss. Jones pointed at Trump to greet him when he entered.
In 2019, when Trump was in office, he came to Madison Square Garden to watch Jorge Masvidal cut up Nate Diaz, a fight that wasn’t even a formal championship. Days before that card, Trump had changed his residency from New York, where he built up his celebrity, to Florida, home to his Mar-a-Lago club in West Palm Beach.
Five months ago, Trump went to Newark, N.J., to watch Islam Makhachev choke out Dustin Poirier for the lightweight belt, two days after being convicted of charges related to covering up hush money payments to a porn star.
White has repeatedly praised his friendship with Trump and stumped for him at the Republican National Convention several times and at other campaign rallies. On Saturday night, he and Trump leaned toward one another as they sat ringside so they could carry on a lengthy private conversation in the middle of thousands of fans.
For years, White has credited Trump for helping stage some of UFC’s early fights in Atlantic City, N.J., at the casino resort known then as Trump Taj Mahal.
Back then, UFC was seeking wider legitimacy for mixed martial arts with state regulators around the country. Atlantic City was a center for boxing, and UFC made some of its biggest strides when it gained a foothold there and in Las Vegas.
Trump, in turn, has embraced the UFC to help him connect with sports fans, with eager help from White.