Fans expected UFC 302 to be a banger. But right before the main card began, the crowd at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, burst into applause as the former President of the United States, Donald Trump, entered the arena to his now-usual entrance theme, ‘American Badass.’ As he walked out with Dana White, people got out of their seats to get a glimpse of him. Even the commentary booth was astonished. “Boy, the round of applause he is getting right now is pretty staggering,” Joe Rogan pointed out before shaking hands with Trump.

Pictures of Trump’s arrival at the Prudential Center were shared on Instagram by ‘MMAJunkie’. The caption read, “UFC, Dana White welcome Donald Trump to #UFC302 in wake of ‘hush money’ conviction.” 

Trump was recently charged with 34 counts of falsification of business records during the 2016 presidential election campaign. This makes him the first US president to be convicted of a crime. However, Trump has maintained his stance- he called the trial rigged.

But when the former president entered the UFC 302 arena, the entire crowd popped in applause. Let’s not forget that his presence at UFC events is nothing new. At UFC 296, a similar scene transpired, which had Rogan shaking Trump’s hand. Without a doubt, the scene went viral and fans wanted to see the former POTUS on Rogan’s podcast.

However, the UFC color commentator has often refused to do so in the past. In an interview with Lex Friedman, Rogan said, “I am not a Trump supporter in any way, shape or form.” He further added, “I have had the opportunity to have him on my show more than once. I have said no every time.”

But coming back to UFC 302, as soon as people saw Donald Trump enter, they took to social media to share their thoughts. What did they say?

Donald Trump’s presence at UFC 302 divides fans…

The fans commented on Trump’s conviction and claimed it was a bad look for the UFC. A fan wrote, “Right after he got convicted, having him walking free at a UFC event is an absolutely horrible look for Dana and the UFC.” One of the angry fans asked the authorities to keep politics out of sports, “The Right “keep sports and politics separate” … Also the right :”

Their unhappiness with seeing Trump is understandable. After all, falsifying business records is a Class E felony in New York- the lowest tier of felony charges in the state. People found guilty could be sent to prison for up to four years.

Social media users also remarked when Trump didn’t shake Daniel Cormier’s hand. “Anyone else notice he shook everyones hands except the black commentators lmaooooo,” read one comment. Another comment went, “Didn’t shake DC’s hand tho.” While Trump and Cormier did acknowledge each other’s presence with a thumbs up, they did not shake hands due to them standing at a distance.

Further, many fans seemed to believe that White was doing everything he could to help Trump in the upcoming Presidential elections. One person wrote, “Dana doing everything he can to make sure Trump gets those votes.”

Now, there’s a lot of uncertainty surrounding Trump. But as per the information available, Judge Juan M. Merchan set the sentencing for July 11. That is just days before the Republicans will formally nominate Donald Trump for President.

Additionally, the fighting community didn’t miss how Trump pulled in the UFC color commentator for a handshake. “Joe not letting trump pull him again.” Furthermore, one comment read, “We better see him on Rogan soon.” Well, after Trump’s recent entanglement with the law, it doesn’t really look like Rogan would be interested in getting him on JRE. What do you think of Trump’s presence at UFC 302? Let us know in the comments down below.