Donald Trump got to forget about his well publicized legal difficulties on Saturday night and enjoy some good old fashioned fist fights. The former president of the United States was octagon side for UFC 287.
The Trump Taj Mahal, now known as the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, was the venue for UFC 30 and UFC 31 at the start of the century. At the time the promotion was struggling to achieve mainstream acceptance and White and Trump appear to have forged a friendship that has stood the test of time.
Trump got a good reception from the crowd at the Kaseya Centre in Miami:
Legends @ufc pic.twitter.com/6hDLUXQ8KN
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) April 9, 2023
Action packed
Sitting alongside him were Kid Rock and Mike Tyson. While both are well past their heyday they are still instantly recognizable and posed alongside Trump and White for photos.
The card itself was action packed. At the start of the night Shayilan Nuerdanbieke got knocked out by Steve Garcia, although that was well before the celebrities had started to file into the venue.
In the main event Israel Adesanya avenged his UFC 281 defeat to Alex Pereira and recaptured his middleweight title. He stopped the Brazilian late in the second stanza and celebrated wildly.
Legal difficulties
Trump is not the only celebrity sitting next to White who has had legal difficulties. Tyson is a a registered sex offender who was convicted of rape in 1992 and given a six year prison sentence.
Meanwhile Kid Rock has been charged with assaulting a DJ and fighting a fellow customer in a Waffle House. But it is Trump’s ongoing legal woes that have dominated the news cycle in the US.
Trump is currently in court accused of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to two porn stars. But judging from the reception he received in Miami the former president is still a popular figure in some circles.
Dana White has certainly made some famous friends in the 22 years he has been UFC president. But Trump might just be the most famous of them all and he seemed to be enjoying the action in Miami last weekend.
