Former President Donald Trump got the crowd going in Las Vegas when he attended UFC 290 on Saturday night.
The 45th president of the United States was greeted with loud cheers as he entered the arena for International Fight Week.
The 77-year-old waved to the crowd gathered at the T-Mobile Arena and shook hands as he was joined by UFC president Dana White.
Trump entered the arena just before the main card kicked off, flanked by an army of Secret Service agents, and made his way to his seat.
He even took the time to pose for a photo with former UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic before taking his seat.
Former President Donald Trump got the crowd going in Las Vegas when he attended UFC 290
The 45th president of the United States gives a thumbs up as he is greeted with loud cheers
The 77-year-old was accompanied by UFC President Dana White (right) as he entered the arena
Trump wasn’t alone in making his appearance in Las Vegas when Alex Volkanovski, who was set to face Yair Rodriguez in the main event, NBA champion and Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray arrived.
Meanwhile, it was a star-studded affair in the T-Mobile arena with actors Miles Teller, comedian David Spade and UFC champion Israel Adesanya also in the audience.
Trump, who is seeking a return to the White House in 2024, is a familiar face at UFC events.
He has previously held events at his Trump Taj Mahal hotel and even attended UFC 244 while still president.
He was also in the house for UFC 264 and even in April attended UFC 287 alongside Mike Tyson and Kid Rock.
Jorge Masvidal, who watched Trump play Nate Diaz earlier in 2019, also fought at UFC 287 in April and praised the former president after his fight.
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“Greatest president in the history of the world sitting there, I love that man,” Masvidal said, pointing to Trump, who was sitting ringside at the Miami-Dade Arena.
Masvidal also praised Florida governor and Trump’s Republican rival Ron DeSantis and started a chant against Joe Biden.
The former president has boyfriend Masvidal, who retired from the event in April after his third in a recent string of losses.
Trump was flanked by an army of Secret Service agents as he made his way to his seat
Trump loved the spotlight and waved to the crowd gathered at the T-Mobile Arena
He took the time to pose for a photo with former UFC Heavyweight Champion Stipe Miocic (L)
Comedian David Spade (R) and UFC champion Israel Adesanya (L) were also in the audience
Trump was previously seen ringside with Mike Tyson at UFC 287 in April
Trump and White have also developed a close relationship over the years with the UFC chief, even supporting the former Apprentice host at the 2016 Republican National Convention.
White also spoke on Trump’s behalf at the 2020 Republican National Convention, later telling Tucker Carlson, “This man has been so good to me it’s inexplicable.
“He’s been a really good friend to me since the day I met him.
“When we bought this company it had such a bad stigma and the sport that we couldn’t even come to venues, they didn’t want us.
“Donald Trump saw that this thing could potentially get big, plus he’s a sportsman who loves sports, and he offered us to come and do the event at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City.
“He made a really fair deal for us and we went there and did two events with him where he showed up for the first fight and stayed until the last fight.
‘Imagine then; The Trump brand is way up in fashion, the UFC brand is way down, but he took us on and he was great.
“Everything that ever happened to me in my career after that day, the first guy to reach out and congratulate was Donald Trump; whether it was a letter or a time we were on the cover of the New York Times.
Jorge Masvidal (L) praised the former president after his fight at UFC 287 in April
UFC President Dana White spoke on Trump’s behalf at the 2020 Republican National Convention
“He said, ‘I always knew you were going to do it, Dana, congratulations,’ and he sent me the paper. He once sent me a pen to congratulate me.
‘He always sends something to congratulate; a man who is genuinely happy with your success.’
In addition, fighter Derrick Lewis claimed in 2018 that then-President Trump called him to urge him to beat Russian rival Alexander Volkov.
He said in a post-fight interview that Trump called him a few hours before his fight in Las Vegas on Sunday and ordered him to take out Volkov because of poor media coverage of Trump’s relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“I forgot, a few hours before the fight, Donald Trump called me and told me to knock this Russian mother ****** out because they make us look bad on the news, you know , him and Putin and s***,” said Lewis.
Earlier in the day, Trump spent 40 minutes discussing the border, economics, crime and trans women in sports while addressing a gathering of Republican volunteers in Las Vegas.
He attacked the Florida governor and his Republican rival Ron DeSantis as “very overrated,” saying he has “no personality.”
But he reserved his strongest condemnation for the president, declaring that “the gloves are off.”
He accused Joe Biden of being a “corrupt, incompetent leader” who has been “compromised” by China and Ukraine.
While Trump was throwing the punches in Las Vegas, Biden was seen on Saturday on the beach near his Delaware home, soaking up the sun with his wife Jill and 22-year-old granddaughter Finnegan.
Before attending the UFC event, Trump gave a speech to Republican volunteers in Las Vegas
Finnegan’s father, Hunter Biden, 52, was not with the group. Joe and Jill paid $2.74 million for their beachfront home in Rehoboth Beach in 2017.
It comes as the Biden administration continues to refuse to address the scandal of cocaine found in the White House, as well as Hunter’s love child.
The dime-sized bag of cocaine was discovered Sunday while the president and his recovering cocaine-addicted son Hunter spent a weekend at Camp David.
The Secret Service is conducting DNA and fingerprint analysis to find out who brought it to the White House grounds.
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