Dana White Would Play the National Anthem Before UFC Fights if Trump Asked

Dana White is a staunch supporter of Donald Trump.

If the government decided combat sports needed to be more patriotic, UFC president Dana White would have no problem playing the national anthem at his promotion’s events. 

Speaking on SI Now Friday, White said he would begin the patriotic performance if Donald Trump requested it. 

“I guess if the president came and asked me to do the national anthem, I’d do the national anthem,” White said. “I have no problem with the national anthem. All sports do it. In boxing, they play the national anthem of everybody involved in the fight. It takes 25 or 30 minutes for the fight to start. It’s just something we never did.”

White is a longtime public supporter of Trump’s, going back to the early 2000’s when Trump’s Atlantic City casino hosted two events for the fledgling fight company. (Trump’s casino went bankrupt, while UFC grew into a massively valuable organization.) White also spoke in support of the then-presidential nominee at the Republican National Convention last summer. 

“Donald championed the UFC before it was popular, before it grew into a successful business, and I will always be so grateful to him for standing with us in those early days, so tonight I stand with Donald Trump,” White said in his speech.

UFC does not typically begin its events with the national anthem, though White did point out that the song was performed at UFC 33 after the Sept. 11 terror attacks. Everlast performed “America the Beautiful” at UFC 216 in Las Vegas last Saturday, six days after a gunman killed 58 people there.