UFC

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Trump said Saturday that he has offered the job of White House press secretary to his friend and UFC boss Dana White, an announcement unconventional even for the norm-busting president and one that nobody in the White House immediately confirmed.

Trump, while he was at his golf club in Florida, posted on social media that he made the offer to “the Great Dana White, a violent Fighter and Warrior” to become the Republican president’s chief spokesperson.

Trump said he requested that White bring along several UFC fighters as “assistants,” adding, “We need these people to defend us against the Lunatic Left. Dana will be a Press Secretary like none other. Dana, please take the job!”

The White House did not respond Saturday to messages inquiring about the president’s social media post.

White was in London on Saturday for a boxing event. A spokesperson for UFC did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

The UFC head shared an image of Trump’s post on Instagram, along with an image of White standing behind the lectern in the White House press briefing room with the words “On to the next chapter.”

Trump’s post came as his White House is in a period of major transition and struggling with his party’s deep losses in Tuesday’s midterm elections. The historic wins by Democratic candidates, including in areas that Republicans had held for decades, led to the GOP losing control of both chambers of Congress.

Trump on Friday announced he was replacing his longtime advisor Susie Wiles, seen as something of a tempering force on the president’s impulses, as White House chief of staff. He replaced her with Stephen Miller, the chief advisor behind the administration’s hard-line immigration policies and among the most pugilistic of Trump’s inner circle.

The shake-up at the heart of his administration follows the brief but tumultuous week when Trump tried out a new press secretary in Katie Zacharia, who seemed uncomfortable in her sole appearance before reporters left the job after five days amid revelations she had called herself an attorney despite lacking legal credentials.

The post had been vacant since Karoline Leavitt left at the end of August. Trump remains without a chief spokesperson.

Trump is close friends with White and has attended several UFC events with him since returning to the White House in January 2025.

He brought White and the sport to the White House’s South Lawn in June for a celebration of America’s 250th anniversary and the president’s 80th birthday. A wire-mesh octagon was constructed near the executive mansion under “The Claw,” a spaceship-like metal arch fitted with lights, sound equipment and large screens.

“It was an amazing experience. This was a one of one,” said White afterward.

White also spoke at the Republican National Conventions in 2016, 2020 and 2024.

Price writes for the Associated Press. AP writers Daniel Gelston in Philadelphia and Jesse Bedayn in Austin, Texas, contributed to this report.

Alexander Volkanovski secured a total knockout in the closing seconds of second round at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi.

Australia’s Alexander Volkanovski has retained his featherweight title after making short work of Russia’s Movsar Evloev in the UFC 333 main event in Abu Dhabi.

Volkanovski secured a technical knockout (TKO) with a right hand, followed by a ground-and-pound move in the closing seconds of the second round of their scheduled five-round fight on Saturday.

The official time was 4:54, as the fight was called off with six seconds left to the jubilation of the Etihad Arena crowd in the United Arab Emirates capital.

It was Evloev’s first professional loss and he remained classy in defeat.

“Like I said, Alex is a great champion and it was an honour to share the cage with him,” Evloev said after the loss.

Meanwhile, Volkanovski said he wants to keep stacking wins for as long as he can.

“I’m choosing to do [fight], I don’t have to. I said if I didn’t take too much damage, we will probably keep going. So maybe we keep going,” Volkanovski said.

In the co-main event, Petr Yan won his three-fight series against Merab Dvalishvili in a Russia vs Georgia showdown as Yan swept the scorecards 48-47, 48-47, 48-47 with a mix of a gruelling pace, wrestling, dirty boxing and keeping Dvalishvili at distance to defend his UFC bantamweight title.

Yan beat Dvalishvili last December to regain the title for the second time, having previously won it in July 2020 against Jose Aldo at UFC 251.

The finishes kept coming, but this time in the flyweight division. England’s Lone’er Kavanagh secured a TKO stoppage against Uzbekistan’s Ramazan Temirov with an uppercut, followed by strikes, at 4:28 of Round 1.

At heavyweight, Russia’s Alexander Volkov won a unanimous decision over Rizvan Kuniev utilising dominant wrestling and top control to earn his third-straight win. Volkov called for a title shot at Thursday’s presser, which may have stumped UFC CEO Dana White when addressing him.

Kuniev had his two-fight winning streak snapped.

Opening the main card, Aaron Pico needed just over a minute to TKO Losene Keita of Guinea in their featherweight fight. Pico has won back-to-back fights, while Keita has split his last four.

Merab Dvalishvili says he has gained 19lb (1st 5lb) in just five hours after weighing in for his bantamweight title fight against Petr Yan at UFC 333 on Saturday.

The Georgian weighed 135lb (9st 9lb), which was the same as Russian champion Yan, before the pair’s co-main event fight in Abu Dhabi.

Dvalishvili later uploaded a video to Instagram showing the 35-year-old stepping on scales and weighing 154lb (11st 0lb).

“I’ve been drinking water and in only five hours I gain back 19 pounds, that’s what we do, let’s go,” he said.

“Now I’m back drinking and recovering. Now I’m going to start eating. Eat food first, then tomorrow you guys already know who I’m going to eat.”

Fighters typically cut weight by shedding water in the days before a bout, before rehydrating to regain weight – a process that can provide a physical advantage inside the octagon.

The UFC has taken a number of steps to make weight cuts safer over the years, including banning IV drips, which forces fighters to hydrate in a healthier way, and building the Performance Institute, which provides guidance for its athletes from professional health experts.

UFC fighters are recommended to lose no more than 8% of their body weight during fight week.

On fight night they are recommended to stay within 10% of their weight class.

Dvalishvili is aiming to win back the title he lost against two-time champion Yan last December.

During their face-off, the pair engaged in an intense but respectful stare-down.

In the main event, champion Alexander Volkanovski and Movsar Evloev both made weight before their featherweight world title contest.

Australia’s Volkanovski is looking to earn a record ninth win in UFC featherweight title fights against Russia’s Evloev, who is undefeated in 20 bouts.

On the undercard, British flyweight Lone’er Kavanagh takes on Uzbekistan’s Ramazan Temirov.

The 27-year-old Kavanagh is aiming to bounce back from defeat by American Brandon Royval in July.