Dana White: ‘I’m For Common Sense’

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The history of United States presidents and sports is a detailed intersection with multiple stops.

Major League Baseball had a powerful advocate in Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In more recent years, George W. Bush was frequently spotted on a baseball diamond during his two terms in the White House, while the National Basketball Association received incredible support from Barack Obama.

During the Revolutionary War at Valley Forge, George Washington played an English game (rich with irony, isn’t it?) using a bat and ball, and a Sports Illustrated article from 1955 detailed Thomas Jefferson’s affinity for swimming.

For fight fans, there is no president more connected with the sport than Donald Trump.

Trump was present this past Saturday at UFC 296 in Las Vegas. It shouldn’t be too big a surprise; he was connected throughout the 1980s and 90s with boxing and pro boxing. That has led him to MMA, where he is especially close with UFC CEO Dana White.

White even spoke on behalf of Trump seven years ago at the Republican National Convention. While many of their political views align, the relationship between the two men extends beyond politics.

For White, it is a friendship steeped in loyalty.

Back in 2001, only a month after the Fertitta brothers purchased the UFC and installed White as president, the company was in dire need of prominent venues to host fight cards. Trump was one of the few high-profile contacts to return White’s call. More than that, he took a chance on the UFC when it was needed most.

The Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey hosted UFC 30 in February of 2001 and then UFC 31 a month later. It was a small-but-significant moment for the UFC, providing stability to a company that was laying its foundation.

So when White walks beside Trump at UFC events, while Kid Rock’s “American Bad Ass” blasts, it means more than a photo op. White is committed to a business relationship–and friendship–that formed more than two decades ago.

As far as politics, White revealed that his views might not always be what people expect.

“I think pretty much everybody on the planet knows where I stand politically,” said White. “I don’t shy away from that stuff at all. But a lot of people think I’m this hardcore republican. I’m not. I’m more down the middle. A lot of things about me are conservative, yet there are a lot of things about me that are more liberal, too.”

As a global entity, the UFC is in a unique spot with fighters whose homelands are involved in war. Unlike other fight promotions–a year ago, GLORY released all its Russian fighters based on complications stemming from the Russian invasion of Ukraine–White has ensured that what is happening back home does not affect what takes place in the cage.

“I don’t turn my back on anybody,” said White. “My fighters should never have to be hurt by what’s going on in the world. They don’t make the decisions to go to war.”

Many already assume to know White’s opinion, primarily because he is so boldly outspoken. Yet White puts a lot of thoughts into his comments, basing his business actions around the fundamental concept of common sense.

“Common sense is lacking in the world,” said White. “That’s not just a United States thing, it’s everywhere.

“But that’s how I operate. And that’s what it comes down to. I’m for common sense.”