UFC President Dana White, a known ally of former U.S. President Donald Trump, faced a wave of boos at WrestleMania 41 when he appeared on the big screen at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. The moment, captured on video and widely shared across social media, showed the 55-year-old executive visibly uncomfortable, though he managed to keep waving at the crowd of 60,000 WWE fans.
Online reactions were swift and brutal. One user tweeted, “They showed Dana White twice and he got booed both times.” Another added, “Dana White just got boo’d at WrestleMania in Vegas.” A third person chimed in with political commentary: “If Dana White is getting boo’d from the WWE audience, I’m not convinced bringing president Trump out is a good idea. Clearly a different audience than MMA fans.”
TKO Merger Not Translating to Fan Unity
Despite WWE and UFC joining forces under the TKO Group Holdings umbrella in 2023, Dana White emphasized that both brands are operating independently. “It’s very separate. I haven’t worked with them at all,” White said following a UFC event. “I do what I do and they do what they do. They’re using some of the people from my team to help them in different areas business-wise but as far as putting on live events, WWE is very good at what they do and we’re very good at what we do, and that’s about as far as it goes with me.”
The backlash at WrestleMania highlighted the stark cultural differences between the two audiences. While MMA fans may celebrate White’s leadership, WWE fans clearly had other sentiments.
WrestleMania 41 Sunday Lineup
- Undisputed WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. John Cena
- Women’s World Championship: IYO SKY (c) vs. Bianca Belair vs. Rhea Ripley
- WWE Intercontinental Championship: Bron Breakker (c) vs. Penta vs. Finn Balor vs. Dominik Mysterio
- Women’s Tag Team Championship: Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez (c) vs. Bayley and Lyra Valkyria
- Sin City Street Fight: Drew McIntyre vs. Damian Priest
- AJ Styles vs. Logan Paul
- Randy Orton’s Open Challenge
WrestleMania 41 delivered in spectacle and drama—but Dana White’s frosty reception may become one of the weekend’s most talked-about moments.
