Dana White knew his behind-closed-doors UFC 249 event was a huge success when he got a cageside phone call from Trump
- Dana White knew his UFC 249 event was a wild success when he got a cageside phone call from President Donald Trump.
- White and Trump are good friends, and the UFC boss said he tends to get a call from the president on Monday mornings to discuss recent fights.
- But Trump didn't wait for the weekend to be over before he called White to congratulate him on the behind-closed-doors show.
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UFC boss Dana White said last month that President Donald Trump usually calls him on Monday mornings to talk about recent fights, but on Saturday, the president didn't even wait for the weekend to be over before he called his friend.
"He said, 'Congratulations, you did it. I knew you were the guy. I knew you'd get it done,'" White told The Athletic this week.
Tony Ferguson's 12-fight winning run came to an abrupt halt at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena after Justin Gaethje fractured his orbital bone with a thumping win. But the night's results will likely not have pleased Trump as much as having live sports back.
Early in April, Trump held a conference call with the country's major sports commissions, telling league bosses around the country that "we have to get [sports] back" after the worsening spread of the novel coronavirus caused a widespread shutdown of the industry.
Well, sports have returned — and White's MMA firm, the UFC, was the first to do it.
"This guy has been such a good friend to me," White said of Trump. "He's unbelievable. He's awesome. I love the guy. I'd do anything for him."
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