Trump is a big sports fan and has shown a fondness for UFC in particular.
So, was I surprised when I saw Trump walk out of the tunnel for UFC 290 with Dana White? Absolutely not.
Nor was I surprised to hear Trump get such a welcoming from the crowd, as UFC fans have proven to be far more conservative than not (via Fox News).
Big Fan
There was no doubt this was a Trump-friendly crowd the moment Trump walked in…
Donald Trump and Dana White make their entrance to #UFC290 🇺🇸
— ALX 🇺🇸 (@alx) July 9, 2023
As one would expect, Trump had the best seat in the house, probably getting a little blood spattered on him from a few of the fights.
As for the card itself, it was a pretty amazing night of UFC action.
In the final fight of the undercard, Robbie Lawler pulled off an upset win against Niko Price. Lawler has been doing this for two decades and tagged this bout as his final match, and he ended it gloriously.
He did what he had done throughout his career… he dropped bombs on Price and managed to end the fight via TKO in less than a minute.
Val Woodburn was no match for former Penn State University wrestler, Bo Nickal, reports CBS Sports.
Nickal is a newcomer to the sport and only had four fights under his belt, but he proved here he has hands to go with those wrestling moves, so he could be a major force in the middleweight division moving forward.
Another surprise win was Dan Hooker over Justice Turner. Hooker was bloodied early, but he wore Turner down and raised his hands at the end of the night.
Dricus Du Plessis surprised the crowd by defeating Robert Whitaker in a bout where Whitaker seemed less than enthused to be there. Whitaker went down after punch that made his wears wiggle in the second, and it was game over.
In the co-main event, Alexandre Pantoja was awarded a split decision and a title belt against Brandon Moreno in a fight that was clearly misjudged. Other than the first round, Moreno dominated this fight, but they clearly gave Pantoja far too much credit for ground time when both fighters lay motionless.
The final event of the night, Alexander Volkanovski held his featherweight title against the highly touted Yair Rodriguez. Rodriguez was unable to keep Volk at a distance where he could use those dangerous legs to his advantage. Once Volk got inside and got Rodriguez to the ground, it was game over.
