Donald Trump is once again making the rounds at UFC events.
The former president took in the action at UFC 295 last month at Madison Square Garden, and is in Las Vegas for UFC 296.
It marks Trump’s fourth appearance at a UFC pay-per-view event this year, including UFC 287 in Miami and UFC 290, which also was in Vegas.
DONALD TRUMP HAS ARRIVED! 😳#UFC296 | Buy now on TNT Sports Box Office ▶️ https://t.co/uXQAMHNTBd pic.twitter.com/YMUaltZaBp
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) December 17, 2023
Trump made his entrance alongside UFC president Dana White, music artist Kid Rock, and actor Mario Lopez.
One of Trump’s biggest supporters is fighting in the main event – Colby Covington will be looking to regain the welterweight title against Leon Edwards as an underdog.
Covington said that if he wins the bout, Trump will be the one placing the championship belt on him.
“I’m his biggest fan, he’s my biggest role model. What better way for him to put the belt around me?” Covington told the Full-Send Podcast earlier this week.
“Who better than the most famous person on planet Earth, Donald Trump, to give me the belt?”
Trump’s UFC 287 arrival was in favor of Jorge Masvidal, whom he has grown a friendship with. Masvidal lost his fight that night to Gilbert Burns and retired afterwards.
Covington enters the bout with a 17-3 career record, having gone 2-2 in his last four fights. Both of those losses were to Usman.
His last fight was a unanimous decision victory over Jorge Masvidal, another fighter Trump has supported, at UFC 272 in March 2022.
Edwards, the favorite, is 21-3, having taken the title from Usman at UFC 286 in March in his home country of England.
UPDATE:
The two championship fights to close out the calendar year saw both belts stay put. Leon Edwards (21-3 MMA, 13-2 UFC) defeated Colby Covington (17-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) by unanimous decision to defend welterweight gold in the headliner, while Alexandre Pantoja (27-5 MMA, 11-3 UFC) also got the nod on the scorecards over Brandon Royval (15-7 MMA, 5-3 UFC) to retain flyweight gold.
