Madison Square Garden erupted on Saturday night as Donald Trump entered the arena to watch UFC 295 in the Big Apple.
The former president was flanked by UFC boss Dana White, singer Kid Rock and political commentator Tucker Carlson as he made his entrance after the prelims.
Trump was seen chatting with singer Kid Rock near the Octagon, while comedian and actor Bill Burr was also in the crowd alongside actor/musician Jared Leto and UFC royalty like Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier.
Trump, dressed in his signature navy blue suit and red tie, shook White’s hand before taking his place at the cage.
He received a huge ovation and the crowd roared “USA” before the promo for the UFC’s 30th anniversary event played.
Donald Trump was in the audience at UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night
The former president was flanked in New York by UFC boss Dana White and Tucker Carlson
Trump was seen chatting with singer Kid Rock near the Octagon at Madison Square Garden
The Garden was once again in turmoil a few minutes later when the 45th president appeared on the arena’s big screen.
Jiri Prochazka’s fight with Alex Pereira for the vacant light heavyweight title was at the top of the list on Saturday evening in New York.
Trump has been in the audience at UFC events in recent years and there has been speculation all week that he would be at the Garden on Saturday night.
The crowd’s wish came true just before the start of the main card when Trump made a grand entrance that raised the volume in the “most famous arena in the world.”
But the former president is currently embroiled in a number of legal disputes, including a civil fraud trial in New York and four criminal indictments.
Two relate to his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, while one relates to his handling of classified documents and another to allegations of false accounting related to hush money.
Trump was even on the witness stand as part of the civil fraud trial in New York earlier this week.
The crowd erupted when Trump entered the arena after the preliminary bouts on Saturday evening
The 77-year-old wore his typical dark blue suit and red tie on Saturday evening
Trump entered the garden shortly before the featherweight fight between Diego Lopes and Pat Sabatini.
Lopes ultimately won that fight with a knockout at 1:30 of the first round.
The following fight ended in similar fashion just a second later – with Benoit Saint-Denis headbutting and punching competitor Matt Frevola in their lightweight contest.