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Dana White explains UFC White House card build and failed Chinese fighter attempt
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- Dana White explains UFC White House card build and failed Chinese fighter attempt
Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images
Dana White has revealed he tried to include a Chinese fighter on UFC Freedom 250, but the plan did not work out.
The event will be staged on the White House lawn as part of America’s 250th birthday celebrations, making the card unusually symbolic.
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White did not explain why the Chinese fighter could not be added, although recent political tension between the United States and China gives the issue wider context.
Dana White says UFC Freedom 250 will reflect immigrant roots
Photo by Jack Gorman/Getty Images
White told Steve Inskeep during NPR’s Newsmakers series: “We’re celebrating America’s 250th birthday on the lawn of the White House. And, you know, there possibly couldn’t be a greater honor than that, especially for me as an American.
“And I think that everybody thought that I was going to build a card, America versus the world, where we did the exact opposite.”
The 56-year-old businessman said the card is meant to represent America’s immigrant identity, rather than set up a simple patriotic rivalry.
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“America is a country of immigrants that all came from somewhere else. And they’re all going to be represented.”
He added: “I tried hard to have a Chinese fighter on the card, too, but didn’t work out.”
That stance may surprise some observers because White is closely associated with Donald Trump, whose immigration policies remain a major political issue.
The Chinese fighter detail adds another layer. The UFC boss avoided blaming politics, but the current US-China climate makes the absence harder to ignore.
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