Donald Trump was in attendance at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, for UFC 327 last Saturday, continuing his regular presence at major UFC events.
The president’s relationship with Dana White has remained strong, with both figures often seen together during fight nights and major announcements.
That connection proved influential once again, as a simple question from Trump quickly turned into a confirmed fight for an upcoming historic card.
Dana White explains how Donald Trump request led to Derrick Lewis fight booking
Speaking at the UFC 327 post-fight press conference, White revealed that Trump directly questioned Derrick Lewis’ absence from the UFC Freedom 250 card at the White House on 14 June.
The 56-year-old businessman said: “About an hour before that, the president said to me: ‘Why is Derrick Lewis not on the White House card?’
“I said: ‘I’ll be back in five minutes.’ I went to call Derrick Lewis and said: ‘The president wants to know why you’re not on the White House card,’ and Derrick Lewis said: ‘Politics. Politics kept me off the White House card.’
“And I said: ‘Do you want to fight on the card?’ and he said: ‘I absolutely want to fight on the card.’ So I told Mick Maynard: ‘Find a fight for Derrick, let’s talk about it next week.’ Then the Hokit fight happens and Joe Rogan goes: ‘Is there another slot open for the White House card for Hokit?’ I go: ‘Holy shit’.
“So I grabbed Mick, and I said: ‘Go back there and talk, to see if he’s in,’ and Hokit was getting into an ambulance and said yes.”
The result was a rapid agreement for Lewis to face Josh Hokit, with the bout announced during the Miami event after a chain of events triggered by Trump’s initial remark.
Hokit arrives with growing momentum after an impressive display against Curtis Blaydes, the division’s number five, earning a unanimous decision victory to move to 3-0 in the UFC.
The heavyweight has built attention through his eccentric personality and remains unbeaten across nine professional fights, securing a major platform to further raise his profile.
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