The former president of the United States and presidential candidate of the Republican Party, Donald Trumpcame by surprise to the combats of the UFC Saturday night at the Madison Square Garden amidst a loud applause from the public.
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The 45th president, a well-known fan of boxing and mixed martial arts, arrived at the famous New York arena moments before the long-awaited event began. UFC 295which included two title fights.
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Trump was acclaimed by the crowd as he walked to his seat with the president of the UFC, Dana White -a long-time friend and supporter of the former Republican president-, as well as the former host of Fox News Tucker Carlson and the rock star Kid Rock.
Trump shook his fist and waved to the sold-out crowd as the “American Badass” of Kid Rock in the iconic stadium, before sitting ringside with his entourage.
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Trump was seen applauding Diego Lopes after the first fight on the main card, in which Lopes knocked out Pat Sabatini in the first round. After defeating Sabatini, Lopes approached Trump and made a gesture.
Trump also attended the main fight of the night, in which the Brazilian Alex Pereira He became the new UFC lightweight champion by defeating the Czech by TKO Jiří Procházka.
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The former US president attended numerous UFC events in recent years, including the 2019 event at Madison Square Garden, which was headlined by the victory of Jorge Masvidal contra Nate Diaz.
According to local media, Trump, the main Republican presidential candidate, headed to New York immediately after holding a rally in New Hampshire to attend the fight.
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The former president was in office from 2016 to 2020 and aspires to another electoral run in 2024.
The ovation received by Trump in New York seemed to be another example of the popularity that the former president continues to enjoy, despite his growing legal problems.
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A popularity confirmed by surveys: Trump continues to maintain a large lead over his opponents heading into the 2024 elections.
The 77-year-old Republican magnate currently has a 55.6% voting preferences in the surveysfar ahead of the governor of Florida, Ron DeSantiswith 14.1%, the former governor of South Carolina, Nikki Haleywith 8.7%, and Vivek Ramaswamywith 5.3%, according to the latest national survey data compiled by FiveThirtyEight.
Trump has also recently taken the lead on the president Joe Biden in six of the seven major battleground states.
Before Saturday’s fight, Trump was in New York on Monday to testify in a civil trial for financial fraud involving your businesses.
The post first appeared on www.infobae.com
