President-elect Donald Trump made a triumphant return to Madison Square Garden Saturday night, days removed from his landslide victory, for UFC 309.
Trump walked out to Kid Rock’s “American Badass” with a star-studded entourage, including UFC President Dana White, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Kid Rock, and his pick for Department of Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr.
UFC fight commentator and number one podcaster Joe Rogan commented about how loud the arena got for Trump’s entrance.
“It’s always loud when he comes in, but now that he’s won, now that he’s the president again, oh my God,” Rogan said.
Trump went over to Rogan and his fellow commentators, John Anik and former Heavyweight Champion and U.S. Olympian Daniel Cormier, and shared handshakes and hugs.
Margot Martin, the Deputy Communications Director for the Trump 2024 campaign, tweeted an image of Trump and Kennedy watching the preliminary fights earlier in the evening while aboard Trump Force One en route to New York City.
“Be there soon!” she wrote.
Trump suggested he would attend UFC 309, headlined by the Heavyweight Championship fight between champion Jon Bones Jones and former champion Stipe Miocic, during his widely watched appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience in the lead-up to the election.
Trump praised middleweight Bo Nickal and was delighted to hear from Rogan that Nickal is set to fight on the main card.
“When is he fighting again,” Trump asked.
“He’s fighting in Madison Square Garden in November,” Rogan responded.
“Oh, that’s going to be an interesting – after the election,” Trump said, joking, “So I’ll either go as president or I’ll be depressed, and I won’t bother going.”
Rogan, who is calling the fights Saturday night, let out a big laugh.
White told TMZ this week that Trump and UFC legend Conor McGregor have drawn the loudest responses from the crown of anybody to walk into a UFC fight.
“When you think about fighter walkouts, whenever a fighter walks out to the [Octagon] — I mean, the two biggest that actually shake the arena are President Trump and Conor McGregor, two of the biggest fight walkouts ever,” he said.
Trump returns to the Garden for the second time in less than a month after having a historic rally there on October 27 in the final stretch of his campaign. Trump sold the venue out in less than three hours.
