The concord between UFC CEO Dana White and GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump has been one for ages. Characterized by an iconic alliance and appearances, they have been in each otherโs corners for long. White, 55, maintains that he is apolitical and his friendship does not serve any agenda for both. Matter of fact, heโd do the same for Joe Biden, if it were the case. However, the ex-GOP presidential nominee in the running, Biden, and his Democrats might feel like a child of neglect in all the MMA politics.
Itโs a given that someone has to be collateral in the concord of such rockstars. Subsequently, Biden was it. The โFu*k Joe Bidenโ chants at the UFC 296 pay-per-view (PPV) event were just too loud to not notice. Dana White doesnโt believe heโs promoting former President Donald Trump and other Republicans over those with different political beliefs. To that end, Campbell McLaren, CEO of Combate Global, and co-head of the UFC went to his X account to bolster the Democrat-inclusive policy.
I have invited DNC reps, Bidenโs advance team, connected Dem operatives and others to attend or consider Combate as a messaging platform. Their response was they donโt want to be involved with MMA.
Campbell McLaren via X (@campbellcombate)
White recently did a virtual sitdown with ex-USAToday/The Athletic and current Yahoo! Sports columnist Ben Fowlkes. During his exclusive talk on the โCo-Main Eventโ Podcast (@benfowlkesMMA) he denied the notion that his UFC is pro-Republican. His extended role as a Republican COVID taskforce member often sees him under fire for (allegedly) introducing fans to right-wing conservative sentiments and engaging in MMA politics.
But, in a sitdown on theย โIn Search of Excellenceโ Podcast Episode 112, Whiteย mentioned his apolitical beliefs recently. Consequently, McLarenโs claims solidify the apolitical stance. He says he has invited the Biden administration and Democrat operatives before. However, they seemingly ignored the call to use the platform to get their voice out. One has to wonder โ is there sauce enough for it?
Hereโs how combat sports world reacted when Joe Biden quit presidential race
Bit of old news. But the love for ex-Prez Donald Trump does not stop scathing remarks on Joe Biden. Itโs not just Dana White, who introduced him before the curtain call at theย RNC Convention in Milwaukee that supports him. There are other such fighters on the roster as well, both active and inactive.
The rhetoric of a multiple-times indicted Trump aligning himself to fighters in a fighting world played well for his narrative. The bada**ery also increased his camaraderie with various people within the MMA politics sphere. Take viral boxer Ryan Garcia for example. The unhinged โKing Ryโ went bombastic when Joe Biden dropped out of the re-election race and named Kamala Harris as a substitute. As it happens, other UFC fighters reacted as well.
Despite his inauguration coming just three years ago, when he sought to lead the Democrats into the โ24 re-election, all floodgates opened. The memes started rolling in and the unified favor towards Trump was more than ever apparent. While White says his support of Trumpโs campaign has no partiality against Biden and his model of political beliefs, these so surely absurdly sting. As such, the divide will remain prominent for a while.