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Dana White praised the success of the UFC event at the White House before condemning one fighter’s “moronic” stunt.
White reflected the spectacle that was UFC Freedom 250 during a recent appearance on The Pivot Podcast, calling it “a perfect event” before one fighter’s behavior left a figurative black eye on it all.
After heavyweight fighter Josh Hokit knocked out Derrick Lewis in front of a crowd that included Donald Trump, he gifted his chain to the president and thanked him over the microphone for “having the balls” to put on the event. Hokit then blurted out: “And lastly, Michelle Obama is a man. Am I right, America?”
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White, the CEO and president of the UFC, immediately condemned Hokit’s words and appeared to still be upset with him more than a month later.
“What I don’t like, first of all, former First Lady of the United States… number two, a wife, a mother, it’s just gross, inappropriate, the timing of it, and everything,” White said on The Pivot Podcast this week.
“Obviously not the opinion of the UFC, not my opinion or anybody else that fought on that card. It was a really unfortunate thing to happen that night,” he continued.
“When you hit this f—--- grand slam home run and have a perfect event in every way that it could be. You got a f—--- moronic, it’s just, ugh. But, other than that, it was a great f—--- night.”
The event will go down in history as the first professional sporting competition to be staged on the South Lawn of the White House, something that was made possible by Trump’s willingness to accommodate a UFC octagon, a 90-foot-tall steel structure nicknamed ‘The Claw,’ and seating for more than 4,000 spectators on the front stoop of his presidential residence.
Given it coincided with Trump’s 80th birthday, the president was front and center throughout the night and even walked out from the Oval Office alongside White to kick off the event.
White, who shares a close relationship with Trump, received backlash from fans who considered it to be a politically-charged event, but the UFC CEO has repeatedly stated it was more of a celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States than anything to do with the current political climate.
After Hokit’s wild claim, Trump appeared to crack a "half-smile" and shook the fighter’s hand as he left the octagon.
Despite angering White and causing a massive political and media backlash, Hokit has not been suspended by the UFC and remains with the promotion.
Outside of Hokit’s antics, the night saw several blockbuster fights go down, including Justin Gaethje stunning Ilia Topuria for the lightweight world title in the main event.
The card averaged seven million concurrent viewers in the US, making it the most-watched UFC event in history, while delivering 34 million global viewers.
