(This story was updated to add new information.)
It’s become a sort of tradition for Donald Trump to attend the biggest of UFC events. Will that be the case for UFC 309?
Combat sports events don’t get much bigger than when they take place at Madison Square Garden in New York City, as is the case with UFC 309 headlined by a highly anticipated heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic.
President-elect Trump, just more than a week removed from his big win over Vice President Kamala Harris, has a lot on his plate as he continues to make key hires for his second administration before he takes office Jan. 20. But it’s not out of the question that he could make time to attend UFC 309, where good friend and UFC CEO Dana White is certain to roll out the figurative red carpet for him. Every time Trump has attended a UFC event, he’s been met with cheers by an MMA fan base that overwhelmingly adores him.
So, will that happen again on Saturday night?
Dana White mum on Donald Trump attending UFC 309
As of Friday afternoon, nothing was concrete and nothing reported about Trump attending UFC 309, although there’s been lots of chatter. After the UFC 309 press conference, White was asked about Trump being in attendance, but the UFC boss wouldn’t say for sure.
“He always gets a good reception wherever we are,” White told a group of reporters. “And, yeah, he’s a fan. He could pop up this weekend. You never know.”
Donald Trump told two UFC 309 fighters he’d be there
A pair of fighters on the card – Michael Chandler and Bo Nickal – revealed that Trump previously told them he expected to be cageside at MSG.
“He said, ‘I’ll either be there on Nov. 16 because we won the election, or if I lost, I’ll be depressed, and I won’t show up,'” Chandler recently told TMZ. “Obviously he won the election, so it sounds like he’s going to be there.”
Nickal echoed a similar message during an appearance this week on “The Ariel Helwani Show.”
“I think he’s gonna be there,” Nickal said. “He told me a couple of times that he’s gonna be there. He’s the President. … I’m sure that if he’s not (at UFC 309), there was something else that was more important.”
Donald Trump at UFC events
Since his career in politics began with his winning the presidential election in 2016, Trump has tapped into support from the MMA fan base through White and the UFC. The relationship is so close knit that White spoke on Trump’s behalf at the 2016, 2020 (virtually) and 2024 Republican National Conventions. White was at Mar-a-Lago to celebrate with Trump on election night last week.
Trump became the first sitting U.S. president to attend a UFC event when he was cageside for UFC 244 in November 2019 at Madison Square Garden, headlined by Jorge Masvidal vs. Nate Diaz for the BMF title. Less than two years later, Trump attended UFC 264 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, which was headlined by the trilogy between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor.
With the 2024 election drawing near, Trump ramped up his attendance of UFC events as he returned at UFC 287 in April 2023 held in Miami. Trump followed that up with a second 2023 appearance in November at UFC 295 in New York. Trump most recently attended UFC 299 this past March in Miami.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.
