How UFC became a key player in Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign success

Donald Trump was elected as the 47th POTUS (President of the United States of America) after winning the 2024 U.S. presidential elections earlier this week. The world's premier MMA organization, UFC, played a significant role in Trump's victory.

Trump previously served as the U.S. president, the 45th president, from Jan. 20, 2017 to Jan. 20, 2021. He lost the 2020 presidential race to the Democratic Party's veteran politician, Joe Biden, who's the incumbent president.

In the 2024 elections, the Republican Party's Donald Trump defeated the Democratic Party's presidential hopeful and current Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump is expected to enter office in January 2025, which would end the current Biden-Harris administration.

Donald Trump is a fight fan who's long been a prominent public personality. He's oft-credited for being one of the rare celebrities-cum-businesspersons who publicly supported UFC back when the promotion and the sport of MMA were in their nascent stages.

UFC CEO and president Dana White has spoken highly of Trump for many years, even participating in his social/political events, including this year's GOP Convention. White extensively campaigned for Trump during the recent elections too.

Moreover, White recently indicated that he facilitated Trump's long-awaited appearance on UFC color commentator Joe Rogan's world-renowned JRE (Joe Rogan Experience) podcast. Over the years, Rogan has ambiguously supported Democratic, Republican, and independent presidential candidates. He even drew Trump's ire earlier this year.

Nevertheless, a few days back, Rogan officially endorsed Trump for president. The consensus is that White's longstanding support, Trump's recent JRE appearance, and Rogan's endorsement considerably benefited the Republican in his quest to become a two-time POTUS.

Moreover, Rogan happens to be a vocal appreciator of the world's current richest person, Elon Musk, who's been one of the faces of the Trump's campaign. After Trump's win, Musk tweeted a photograph of himself, White, and Trump seemingly engaged in a conversation at Trump's famous Mar-a-Lago property.

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Ariel Helwani acknowledges Dana White and Joe Rogan's contributions to Donald Trump's 2024 POTUS win

On The Ariel Helwani Show, veteran MMA journalist Ariel Helwani, who's had a storied history with Dana White, echoed the sentiments of many in the mixed martial arts community. Helwani underscored that irrespective of one's socio-political allegiances, it's "surreal" and "wild" to see how MMA and the UFC have gone from being niche entities to the absolute mainstream.

Helwani referenced Donald Trump's victory ceremony, which featured President-elect Trump, Vice President-elect JD Vance, and Dana White giving a speech onstage. White notably hailed Rogan during his speech.

Furthermore, Helwani seemingly foresees White possibly enjoying a political career, possibly in Trump's cabinet. He even underlined the hypothesis that Kamala Harris not appearing on JRE further turned voter sentiment against her.

Expounding upon how the UFC helped the Trump campaign, including support from major UFC stars, Helwani stated:

"These [Dana White and Joe Rogan] are two very very important figures. Obviously, Rogan known for much more than just his work as a UFC commentator. But how about the UFC and how about mixed martial arts having that much of an impact? I have no doubt that Dana White's campaigning, and influence, and popularity leads to people wanting to vote and be a fan of Donald Trump; and the same with Joe Rogan. So it's a wild, wild thing."

Watch Ariel Helwani's assessment below (1:29 and 5:15):