Khabib Nurmagomedov showed up at a UFC event for the first time in a year and a half to corner Islam Makhachev to victory against Dustin Poirier. Following that win, the former UFC lightweight champion took the opportunity to speak to presidential candidate Donald Trump about ending the war in Palestine.
Footage taken from cageside captured the moment where Nurmagomedov shook hands with Trump, who had been sitting next to Dana White through the entire pay-per-view portion of UFC 302. Khabib appears to tell Trump that he has confidence the former president will end the conflict in Palestine if elected in November. Trump replies that they’re going to “stop it.”
It’s a wild moment that is spreading beyond the usual sphere of UFC influence, with many outlets picking up Trump’s seeming support for peace in the troubled region. It also marks a departure from his usual stance on the topic of Israel and Palestine — Trump has previously supported Israel’s war against Hamas and has said he’d crush pro-Palestine protests and deport protesters.
Donald Trump has become a regular attendee at UFC events and gets the kind of star treatment you’d expect a former president of the United States would get when he’s a fan of the sport. Back when Trump came to power, it was the UFC and Dana White sidling up to him in the hopes of gaining influence and power via his administration, and it worked. The promotion ended up with a direct line to people in the State Department who helped them resolve all sorts of international problems.
Now UFC is returning the favor as Trump goes through dark days. The Republican nominee for the 2024 election was just convicted of 34 felony fraud charges, and is facing potential prison time when his July 11th sentencing arrives. You might think all this bad press is hurting the popularity of “The Donald,” but his appearances at UFC events tells you something different. Not only was Trump cheered by MMA fans in New Jersey on Saturday night, there were multiple chants from the crowd supporting him.
And now we have Khabib Nurmagomedov using Trump’s appearance at UFC events to try and push for an end to the war in Palestine. Somehow the sport of mixed martial arts has become a strange vector in the world of politics, which is wild to witness considering no politician would touch it with a ten foot pole a decade ago.
