Mailbag: Why can't Dana White just admit the UFC White House event has a political element to it?

Since when does the UFC do events on a Sunday? It almost never happens. If the UFC is happening anywhere in North America, it’s almost always on a Saturday. And if the UFC really wanted to do a birthday party for America, hey, good news, the Fourth of July is on a Saturday this year! But no, we’re going with Sunday, June 14. Because that’s President Trump’s 80th birthday, and this is obviously all about him.

Which, OK, fine. Clearly the UFC has decided to tie its brand to Trump. You don’t do the elaborate Trump walkout at events otherwise. That doesn’t happen when he goes to football or basketball games. Either the UFC ownership thinks there’s something in it for them if they help Trump, or they’re just genuinely on his side. (Or both.) My only question at this point is, why lie about it? Why not just own it and say, yeah this our guy and we're riding with him all the way?

Because if the concern is that it will alienate some fans — surprise — that has already happened. The Trump stuff is so impossible to ignore on UFC broadcasts at this point. It has undoubtedly driven away some viewers. I have to think the UFC owners have done the math on that and decided it’s worth the trade-off. I would respect it more if they just came out and said that rather than pretending to be confused as to why anyone would think that their event on the president’s birthday is at all political.

I get the excitement Hokit brought to 327 (nobody knew who he was a month ago) but is throwing him in the Mariana Trench against Derrick Lewis really the best thing for him? Taking blunt force trauma from the Knockout King isn't good for ANY prospect in the short or long term 🤷‍♂️

— HOMELANDER (@Mike_Fierce_) April 15, 2026

@Mike_Fierce_: I get the excitement Hokit brought to 327 (nobody knew who he was a month ago) but is throwing him in the Mariana Trench against Derrick Lewis really the best thing for him? Taking blunt force trauma from the Knockout King isn't good for ANY prospect in the short or long term

I get what you’re saying, but do any of us really know what to expect from Derrick Lewis these days? He might go out there and throw brain-scrambling bombs, or he might just go through the motions and collect his show money (which is all he really did his last time out). If Josh Hokit fights smart — which is to say, not how he fought against Curtis Blaydes on Saturday — he should win.

But the other variable here is the short turnaround time for Hokit. He reportedly accepted this fight while sitting in the back of the ambulance, awaiting a ride to the hospital. There’s just no way he knew for sure what kind of shape his body was in at that point. Even if he hadn’t taken a single punch, three rounds of wailing away of Blaydes’ head like that is enough to leave a person’s fists swollen and unusable for a while.

We also don’t know how he’ll approach this fight on this stage. The pressure is going to be on him to deliver another wild “Fight of the Night” type of performance. That’s not the best path to victory against a guy like Lewis. Will he try it anyway? If I’m Lewis, I sure hope so. It’s the best chance he’s got.

Gilbert Burns is on a 4 fight losing streak and is the A side in the main event of UFC Winnipeg. Tickets start at around 200 dollars and the arena is not even half sold. Contender for worst card of the year (so far)?

— shadore66 (@shadore66) April 16, 2026

@shadore66: Gilbert Burns is on a 4 fight losing streak and is the A side in the main event of UFC Winnipeg. Tickets start at around 200 dollars and the arena is not even half sold. Contender for worst card of the year (so far)?

First of all, is Gilbert Burns the A-side here? Maybe in terms of name recognition. But it’s Mike Malott, who’s the betting favorite, and he’ll have the Canadian fans on his side. Seems like this is a fight made to push Malott up the ranks on the back of a fading former contender.

As for worst fight card of the year, not even close. This at least has a few fighters we know and will take place in an actual arena rather than the Apex. Will that arena be full by the time fight night rolls around? Maybe not. Though some of those resale tickets could drop in price come Saturday. But as far as overall quality, we’ve seen worse efforts from the UFC in just the last few weeks.

Seems like Arman has transitioned from heel to face rather quickly in the eyes of fans. Any idea how this happened so fast?

— Evan Willcock (@ewillcock) April 15, 2026

@ewillcock: Seems like Arman has transitioned from heel to face rather quickly in the eyes of fans. Any idea how this happened so fast?

In a weird way, it sometimes helps a fighter to be seen as a problem child whom the UFC is mad at. Gives a fighter that bad-boy, Stone Cold Steve Austin vibe to be out here beefing with the bosses. I also think it helps that Arman Tsarukyan stays so busy. If the UFC won’t give him a title shot, fine, he’ll wrestle someone seemingly every weekend — and he’ll always win.

He’s also gotten to the point where his volatility is essentially a selling point. You don’t know what this guy will do. He might start a brawl, head-butt someone, punch a fan. Who knows?! It might not be the best way to move through polite society, but it does convince us to keep watching.

how does a top 15 ufc welterweight get locked up in a mexican prison for eight months and no one reports on it until he gets out? not directed at you, but seems like the sort of thing mma journalists of the “breaking news” variety should be covering, no?

— dead and alive (@pmsdeadandalive) April 15, 2026

@pmsdeadandalive: how does a top 15 ufc welterweight get locked up in a mexican prison for eight months and no one reports on it until he gets out? not directed at you, but seems like the sort of thing mma journalists of the “breaking news” variety should be covering, no?

It’s a fair point. I have to believe someone would have reported it if they knew. Thing is, if you’re locked up in a Mexican prison, maybe you don’t exactly get the chance to reach out and alert the MMA media?

But OK, you might say that someone should have seen he was out of action and got to digging. But with the breakneck events schedule, how many people are even going to notice if a non-champ, non-contender doesn’t fight for a while? There’s just too much going on. And it’s not like there aren’t plenty of reasons why a fighter might be totally absent from the scene for a while.

At the same time, I do think it might have been in his best interests if his team (or someone else close to him who knew about this) had gotten the story out there. Hit up a reporter on social media. Send a tweet. Let people know what’s going on. It might not make the authorities in Mexico release you right away, but it does let them know that this is someone who people are going to be looking for.