Donald Trump will Not be in Attendance for UFC 322 Among Ongoing Epstein Controversy
Donald Trump will not attend UFC 322 this Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York, according to UFC President Dana White, marking the former president’s first absence from a New York UFC event since his consistent presence at major fights in the city over the past several years.
Donald Trump Skips UFC 322 in New York Amid Epstein Controversy
The revelation comes as Trump faces renewed scrutiny following the House Oversight Committee‘s release of private emails from the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s estate. Those emails, released on November 11, mention Trump by name in communications with associate Ghislaine Maxwell and author Michael Wolff.
Dana White confirmed Trump’s non-attendance during separate media appearances, with the news spreading across social media and sports media outlets covering the highly anticipated welterweight championship bout between Jack Della Maddalena and Islam Makhachev. The event, scheduled for November 15 at Madison Square Garden, represents one of the UFC’s marquee offerings for the year, featuring multiple title fights including a women’s flyweight championship matchup between Valentina Shevchenko and Zhang Weili.
Trump has maintained a visible presence at major UFC events for years, particularly in New York. His most recent appearance at Madison Square Garden came in November 2024 when he attended UFC 309 just days after his election victory, arriving alongside Elon Musk, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and other high-profile figures. That event drew extensive media attention as Trump spent several hours ringside, remaining until past 1:30 a.m. to watch multiple fights. Before that, Trump attended UFC 295 at the same venue in November 2023 with an entourage including Tucker Carlson, Kid Rock, and Dana White.
The timing of his absence from UFC 322 coincides with the escalating scrutiny surrounding newly released Epstein correspondence. House Democrats released emails showing Epstein telling Maxwell in April 2011 that Trump “spent hours” at his home with a woman identified as an alleged victim of Epstein’s sex trafficking operation. In another message from 2019, Epstein wrote that Trump “knew about the girls,” seemingly referring to Trump’s claim that he expelled Epstein from Mar-a-Lago for recruiting young women who worked there.
Trump and Epstein had a social relationship dating back to the 1990s and 2000s, though Trump has consistently maintained they had a falling out around 2004. In a 2002 New York Magazine interview, Trump described Epstein as a “terrific guy,” but later distanced himself from the financier following Epstein’s 2019 arrest on sex trafficking charges. Epstein died in custody in August 2019, with authorities ruling his death a suicide, though conspiracy theories have persisted.
Latest on the Epstein Case
The House Democrats initially released three emails on November 11 that specifically mentioned Trump, leading the Republican-controlled House Oversight Committee to counter-release 20,000 additional pages the following day. Among the new documents, Epstein’s emails reveal startling claims about Trump, including one where Epstein told author Michael Wolff that Trump knew about the girls, seemingly referring to allegations that Epstein targeted young women who worked at Mar-a-Lago. In another email to associate Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein wrote that Trump “spent hours” at his home with someone allegedly connected to his sex trafficking operation.
In one exchange with Summers in 2017, Epstein wrote: “Recall i’ve told you,, — i have met some very bad people ,, none as bad as trump. not one decent cell in his body.. so yes- dangerous”. Summers replied with relatively subdued responses to Epstein’s political commentary. In another thread with White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler in 2018, Epstein wrote: “you see , i know how dirty donald is”.
UFC 322
The upcoming UFC 322 card features a stacked lineup beyond the headline title fights. The event includes welterweight bouts between Sean Brady against Michael Morales and Leon Edwards versus Carlos Prates, along with a lightweight showdown between Beneil Dariush and Benoît Saint Denis. The preliminary card includes middle weight matchups and multiple women’s flyweight bouts.
Looking ahead, Trump has plans to host a UFC event at the White House in June 2026, scheduled to coincide with both the 250th anniversary of American independence and his 80th birthday. Dana White and the UFC have been actively planning the spectacle, including renderings presented to Trump at the White House, with reports suggesting world leaders will attend a pre-fight dinner before the matches.
For now, UFC 322 will proceed without Trump in attendance, an absence that stands out given his recent pattern of attending major New York UFC events as part of his political strategy to maintain connection with the sport’s fanbase.
