The UFC, over the course of its 3-decade existence, has had a lot of celebrity endorsers. Among this lineup of celebrities though, was the ever-controversial Donald Trump. The former POTUS supported the UFC during some of its toughest times with the UFC doing the same for the billionaire. But he is especially close with UFC welterweight, Jorge Masvidal, who seemingly retired at UFC 287.
Ahead of Trump’s re-election campaign in 2020, “Gamebred” came out as a supporter of Trump. Ever since Masvidal has remained steadfast in his support of the former President. And he even appeared at several of Trump’s rallies, most notably being a guest speaker at the “Fighters Against Socialism” event in Miami.
President Donald Trump is in the house for UFC 287! God bless @danawhite! pic.twitter.com/eGaghS9dZe
— shaneyyricch (@shaneyyricch) April 9, 2023
And Donald returned the favor, frequently watching Masvidal fight on UFC cards. The former POTUS congratulated Masvidal for his knockout of Ben Askren in one of his speeches. And, Trump was also present during one of the biggest moments in Jorge’s career at UFC 244. This was the event where Jorge fought Nate Diaz for the BMF title back in 2019.
It seems this unlikely friendship is rooted in the political leanings of Jorge and Donald. However, both of them have remained staunch in their support of one another. And this was visible even at UFC 287 with Trump sitting next to Dana White beside the octagon. Meaning, he was present to watch Gamebred retire from the sport after 20 long years and over 50 professional fights.
The time when Donald Trump asked Dana White to pay Jorge Masvidal more money
UFC 264, which many fans will recognize as Conor McGregor’s last UFC appearance before joining the 31st season of TUF, was a star-studded affair. Apart from the star power in the octagon, the crowd at the event was also dotted with celebrities and even familiar faces like Jorge Masvidal.
In footage from UFC 264, the owner of the Trump Tower seeked out “Gamebred” to greet him personally. He walked with an entourage, accompanied by Dana White himself. As they walked around the arena, searching, they finally happened upon Jorge Masvidal. This is when Trump directly addressed Dana to sing Masvidal’s praises.
Trump said, “Great champ. Give him a lot of money.” As Trump said this, Jorge could do nothing but awkwardly look at his boss. Despite many hating Trump at that time and even now, this remains one of the funniest fighter-celebrity interactions in UFC history.
Owing to this relationship with Donald Trump, Jorge Masvidal seemingly has more in common than previously thought with his bitter rival, Colby Covington. However, it also appears as if this unlikely association is here to stay.