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UFC CEO and President Dana White brushed off concerns that a planned White House fight card marking America’s 250th anniversary would be “too political,” saying that “just about everybody on the roster” wants to compete.
In an interview with Bloomberg’s Romaine Bostick Friday, White was asked if he thought it would be a challenge to get fighters to participate in the UFC event scheduled for June out of fear that it would be “too political” or have “too many political overtones.”
White, a longtime friend and supporter of President Donald Trump, rejected the concern, noting that many presidents have had personal interests in various sports.
“I mean, I don’t know how it would be too political other than it’s at the White House,” he responded with a laugh.
“Listen, if you look back throughout history, I think [former President] George Bush was a big baseball fan, [former President Barack] Obama was an NBA fan and Trump is a UFC fan. I don’t think that any of those guys being fans made any sport too political.”
White said his staff has the logistics of the event “dialed in” and noted that around 5,000 will be able to view the fights on the White House lawn while an additional 85,000 people will be able to view the fights on big screens at The Ellipse.
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“We’re going to take over Washington, D.C. the week of the fight,” White said.
White went on to say that nearly all of his fighters have expressed interest in participating in the event, but that a final decision has not been made.
“Just about everybody on the roster wants to fight on the card. It’s a one-of-one special event. I mean, when will there ever be another fight or sporting event at the White House. It’s a history-making event, and we’ll see how this year plays out with different fighters. And you want the biggest, the best, and you want the card to be great.”
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White sat alongside the president Monday in a suite at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, as the pair watched the Indiana Hoosiers capture the first national title in program history with a victory over the Miami Hurricanes in the College Football Playoff championship game.
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