Dana White, Colby Covington Take UFC Belt to White House for Visit with President Donald Trump

.@POTUS @realDonaldTrump and @UFC’s @DanaWhite in the Oval Office earlier today at the @WhiteHouse.... pic.twitter.com/JC9jPsn4zm

— Dan Scavino Jr. (@Scavino45) August 2, 2018

Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White and Colby Covington paid a visit to the White House on Tuesday to see U.S. President Donald Trump, and came bearing a UFC championship belt.

A photo emerged later in the week of the two men, who were all smiles as a piece of UFC gold adorned the President’s desk. While it may seem out of the blue, the two share quite the history together, with Trump carrying the UFC through it’s darkest days, at a time when the promotion had extreme difficulty in finding venues willing to host the then-controversial sport of mixed martial arts.

Trump allowed the UFC to host a slew of events at his casino properties in Atlantic City when no other venues would host the controversial events. Flash forward to 2018, and the once-fledgling promotion is now a global entity that was sold for over $4 billion back in 2016.

Trump himself actually dabbled in MMA promotion prior to his presidency, starting the short-lived Affliction with Mark Cuban. Trump even bested the UFC in signing Fedor Emelianenko back in 2008, at a time when the Russian was considered the top free agent in the sport.

The two men have been close ever since, with White even speaking in support of Trump at the Republican National Convention in 2016.

Accompanying White was UFC interim welterweight champion Covington, who had expressed serious interest in meeting President Trump following his title-winning victory in June.

In a picture featuring the two, Covington wore a Make America Great Again hat while Trump was adorned in the interim champ’s belt.

Like @POTUS @realDonaldTrump always says: Promises made. Promises kept. Pleasure to finally meet you Mr. President. Thank you for always putting America first! #maga #GreatAmericanWinningMachine pic.twitter.com/yYZWkdd5wS

— Colby Covington (@ColbyCovMMA) August 2, 2018