UFC President Dana White Fumes Over Trump’s Exclusion from Conor McGregor Fight Broadcast: ‘Massive F*ck Up’
The main bout from last Saturday’s UFC 264 event between between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor was a disappointment. But it was what the audience at home didn’t see that has UFC president Dana White fuming.
White escorted Donald Trump into the arena himself, and there was an expectation that the former president would be highlighted on the ESPN+ broadcast. After failing to do so, White recently lashed out at his production team to TMZ.
“We were getting ready to show him right between the co-main and main events, and I think you remember that we showed OBJ,” White said. “We showed OBJ, then it was supposed to go to David Spade, 2 Chainz, and then the president, and we had some kind of a glitch in the truck. Then the Conor fight ended up ending in the 2nd round so we never got a chance.”
“Let me tell you what, massive f*** up by my production team,” White added. “But you know, it’s live TV and these things happen.”
Actor Mel Gibson and the other 20,000 UFC fans in attendance saw Trump get escorted up toward the Octagon. But the audience at home had no idea the former president was in attendance based on the broadcast.
“The entire arena gets up on their feet,” White said, describing Trump’s entrance. “The whole place stands up, and everybody’s got their phones. It’s one of the craziest things that you will ever witness if you’re at a live fight and the president walks in.”
White called the reaction to Trump “extremely positive,” as the former president entered the arena. There were many videos on social media that countered White’s depiction, as it seemed there was a mix of cheers and boos for the former president.
With ESPN holding exclusive broadcast rights to UFC 264, some wondered if it was the Disney-owned sports company’s decision to omit Trump from the fight.
“Nobody tells me how to run that show,” White said. “Politics aside, when the former president shows up, whether it was Obama, Trump, Jimmy Carter, I don’t care who shows up, we would respect the former president of the United States.”
Watch above via, TMZ
