UFC CEO Dana White Gives Immediate Reaction to Wild White House Correspondents Dinner

UFC CEO Dana White did not take his seat Saturday night at UFC Vegas 116 because of a trip to Washington, D.C., with Paramount+ and Skydance executives to attend the White House Correspondents' Dinner.

What was supposed to be a festive evening quickly turned disastrous when an active threat canceled the event Saturday night as guests were eating dinner. According to NBC News, 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen is being identified as the suspect in question who caused the disturbance.

As for White, who has known President Donald Trump for the better part of 30 years, he immediately reacted to the series of events in an exclusive to USA TODAY, which was later posted to MMAJunkie.

UFC CEO Dana White Shares 'Unique' White House Correspondents' Dinner Reaction

Dana White during UFC Winnipeg — Apr 18, 2026; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CANADA; UFC CEO Dana White after the fight between Mandel Nallo (red gloves) and Jai Herbert (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Canada Life Centre. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Fedyck-Imagn Images | Bruce Fedyck-Imagn Images

"[Suddenly], it just started getting noisy," White said as people stopped him for photos. "Tables getting flipped over, guys running in with guns and they were screaming ‘Get down.’ I didn’t get down. It was f****** awesome. I literally took every minute of it in, and it was a pretty crazy, unique experience. We were sitting right in front of the table, right in front of where the president was. Nobody got tackled, but guys came in looking for shooters and they came toward out table. I thought the shooter was over by us or something.”

White was deemed safe from the scene, as he and his group exited the Washington Hilton just before 10:30 p.m. ET. Concurrently, Aljamain Sterling's unanimous decision win over Youssef Zalal was in its closing stages to cap a forgettable UFC Fight Night event.

It is unclear whether the UFC will make any changes to its event at the White House on Sunday, June 14, on the South Lawn regarding security measures or other safety protocols to avoid another incident remotely similar to Saturday's events happening again.

UFC Vegas 116 Saw Dana White Absent

White gained large criticism for his remarks, while others praised him for missing an event that saw 11 of 13 fights end by split or unanimous decision across seven hours of the event's run time.

Nonetheless, it appears the aftermath of the dinner has boiled over. White has yet to make any statements since leaving the venue, and likely won't unless asked at his next presser.

The UFC will begin May next Saturday in Perth, Western Australia in local primetime, as the event will mark the first of such occurances for the Australian audience to see the fights during a window that has become second-nature stateside.

For now, though, only time will tell.

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