"It was perceived as being just like death" - Donald Trump details the hassles he helped Dana White UFC overcome in their early days

It is no secret that Donald Trump enjoys a deeply personal and mutually respectful relationship with the UFC and Dana White. However, their association dates back to the time when MMA was a marginalized sport and very few people wanted to associate themselves with it. In his recent interview on the UFC Unfiltered, the former US President shed light on his role in helping the UFC survive.

For the uninitiated, most people in the USA perceived MMA as an extremely dangerous sport where death could be the worst possible outcome. Some even likened it to ‘human cockfighting’ which hurt the economic aspect of it.

However, Donald Trump welcomed the UFC to host events like UFC 28, UFC 30, and UFC 31 at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City. He went down memory lane and explained the decision to associate himself with the UFC. Trump, who was an admirer of Dana White and other investors running the company, stated:

“They couldn’t get a venue because of the danger, you know. People thought it was dangerous and they happened to be right about that. But they [UFC] couldn’t get a venue and I supplied them with a venue.”

The former US President added:

“In those days the danger was, you know, perceived as being just like death. And so a lot of the athletic commissions wouldn’t do it and owners wouldn’t do it. They couldn’t get venues and I gave them venues early on."

Watch him make the statement from the 1:35 mark of the video below:

Donald Trump thinks it’s an incredible thing that Dana White and others have stayed loyal friends to him for helping them out during the lowest point of their lives. Needless to say, the UFC survived the toughest phase of its existence and became the foremost MMA organization in the world. Currently, the company is valued at a whopping $12.1 billion and continues to grow.

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Donald Trump thinks nobody can replace Dana White in the UFC

While several men and women have helped the UFC to become synonymous with MMA, it is hard to imagine the organization reaching this level without UFC President Dana White. The 53-year-old has transformed a marginalized sport into a mainstream entity that has created some of the most famous athletes in the world today.

However, everybody’s time comes to an end and it is an eventuality that White may have to step down as the UFC President at some point. Continuing further in the interview, Donald Trump admired White for achieving great things for the UFC.

“I don’t think anybody could have done what Dana [White] did," said Trump. "Usually, they say everybody is replaceable, no matter what. Everybody’s replaceable but I don’t think this guy [Dana White] is replaceable. I hope I’m not hurting their investment because I don’t know where do you find somebody like this.”

Donald Trump continues to be a patron of the sport. He maintains mutually respectful relationships not only with Dana White but several other UFC fighters.