WASHINGTON (AP) — The beginning of Dana White and the UFC’s road to the White House can be traced back 25 years to when a fringe mixed martial arts promotion — at the time still unable to shake the “human cockfighting” label applied to the sport years earlier by a U.S. senator — ran a modest event called “Battle on the Boardwalk.”Making his first appearance as UFC president, White was asked about his goals for the fledging promotion. Sporting close-cropped hair, thinner, dressed in a suit, and using restraint in his words, White still offered a sneak peek of his future bombastic plans.“We want to make this the Super Bowl of mixed martial arts,” White said.The site of this seemingly absurd proclamation: Trump Taj Mahal.A quarter-century later, after larger fights outside the cage for legitimacy and legalization, UFC is back at President Donald Trump’s home this weekend, though both the promotion and the businessman have long since leveled up in status and stature.
Unimaginable that night in February 2001 in Atlantic City, UFC is staging seven fights under the Freedom 250 banner Sunday night on the South Lawn of the White House to celebrate Trump’s 80th birthday and the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence’s signing.
