Dana White: "She FaceTimed me" - Dana White reveals role in helping free ballerina Ksenia Karelina through Donald Trump- Vladimir Putin talks

UFC CEO Dana White has been friends with U.S. President Donald Trump for over two decades. White recently took the help of Trump and got Russian-American ballet dancer Ksenia Karelina released from a Russian prison.

Karelina, a U.S.-Russian dual citizen, was arrested last year during a family visit to Russia. She was sentenced to 12 years in prison for treason. The charges were placed because of a donation of $51.80 made by Karelina to an American charity named Razom that provides aid to Ukraine.

As per reports, in April 2025, Karelina secured freedom in a prisoner exchange program between Russia and the U.S. She was freed in exchange for a German-Russian native named Arthur Petrov.

White was informed about Karelina's situation by a friend, and with the help of President Trump, he got her out in less than three weeks. At the UFC Kansas City post-fight presser, the UFC CEO said:

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"When we had the fight in Australia, in Sydney, I got a call from a friend of mine who asked if he can come by my hotel room and talk to me. I said of course. He came by and told me the story and then asked if I would go to the President... They asked if I would talk to Trump. So I said ofcourse."

White added:

"So I called [Trump] and he said yeah let me see what I can do. And literally in three weeks he had her out... But she FaceTimed me two days ago. What an incredible, sweet, positive human being she is. President Trump and Putin, [I] give them both credit for getting her out."

Check out Dana White's comments below:

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When Dana White revealed the passing of his parents

During an interview with Piers Morgan back in September 2023, Dana White shared that his parents had passed away. When Piers asked White if he felt any remorse from their passing away, he said:

"I am good with it. I am good with everything. I focus a lot on my kids and my relationship with them. I've sort of put my relationship with my parents behind me. I didn't wish any ill will on either one of my parents but no— when they passed away I had almost no feelings about it."

Check out Dana White's comments below (5:55):

About the author

A B. Tech in electrical engineering, Dabeer began his professional career in 2022 with Vairuhl LLC. Dabeer turned into an MMA fan after watching Nick Diaz’s one-round barnburner with Paul Daley in Strikeforce in 2011. His favorite fighter is Tony Ferguson, whom Dabeer loves for his skills and personality. However, ‘El Cucuy’ does not figure in his top-five MMA fighters of all time, with Jon Jones, Demetrious Johnson, Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva, and Khabib Nurmagomedov making that list.
Dabeer is of the opinion that MMA has supplanted boxing as the world’s premier combat sport, though he feels that UFC fighters in general are underpaid. This diehard MMA fan also believes that titles should not change hands by disqualification.
Someone who keeps himself immersed in the sport at all times, Dabeer likes to use his knowledge and writing skills to create accurate and relevant information that provides value to the readers. His hobbies are playing football and reading books.

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Edited by Subham