Donald Trump will not be attending UFC 322 due to the ongoing Epstein controversy

Donald Trump will not attend UFC 322 at Madison Square Garden in New York this Saturday, according to UFC president Dana White. This marks the former president’s first absence from a UFC event in New York since his consistent presence at major fights in the city in recent years.

Donald Trump to skip 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 estate of deceased convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Those emails, released on November 11, mention Trump by name in communications with collaborator Ghislaine Maxwell and author Michael Wolff.

Dana White confirmed Trump’s absence from separate media appearances, with news spreading through social media and sports media about the highly anticipated welterweight championship between Jack Della Maddalena and Islam Makhachev. The eventscheduled for November 15 at Madison Square Garden, represents one of the UFC’s top offerings for the year, with multiple title fights including a women’s flyweight championship between Valentina Shevchenko and Zhang Weili.​

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Trump has maintained a visible posture presence for years at major UFC events, especially in New York. His most recent appearance at Madison Square Garden took place in November 2024, when he attended UFC 309 just days after his election victory, alongside Elon Musk, House Speaker Mike Johnson and other high-profile figures. That event attracted extensive media attention as Trump spent several hours ringside, staying past 1:30 a.m. to watch several fights. Before that, Trump attended UFC 295 at the same venue in November 2023 with an entourage that included Tucker Carlson, Kid Rock and Dana White.​

The timing of his absence from UFC 322 coincides with the escalating criticism surrounding him newly released Epstein correspondence. House Democrats released emails showing that Epstein told 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 post from 2019, Epstein wrote that Trump “knew about the girls,” apparently referring to Trump’s claim that he kicked Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago because he recruited young women who worked there.

Trump and Epstein had a social gathering relation dating back to the 1990s and 2000s, although Trump has consistently maintained that they had a falling out around 2004. In a 2002 New York Magazine interview, Trump described Epstein as a “great 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, although conspiracy theories persisted.

Latest news on the Epstein case

House Democrats initially released three emails on November 11 Trump was specifically mentioned, prompting the Republican-controlled House Oversight Committee to counter-release 20,000 additional pages the next day. Among the new documents, Epstein’s emails reveal startling claims about Trump, including one in which 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 Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein wrote that Trump spent “hours” at his home with someone allegedly involved in his sex trafficking operation.

In one exchange with Summers in 2017, Epstein wrote: “Remember I told you, – I’ve met some very bad people, none as bad as Trump. Not a single decent cell in his body… if so- dangerous”. Summers responded to Epstein’s political commentary with relatively subdued responses. In another thread with White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler in 2018, Epstein wrote: “See, I know how dirty Donald is.”

UFC322

The upcoming UFC 322 card features a stacked lineup in addition to the title fights. The event features welterweight bouts between Sean Brady and Michael Morales Leon Edwards vs. Carlos Prates, along with a lightweight showdown between Beneil Dariush and Benoît Saint Denis. The preliminary card features middleweight matchups and multiple women’s flyweight bouts.

Looking ahead, Trump has plans to host a UFC event in 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 viewings presented to Trump at the White House, with reports suggesting world leaders will attend a pre-fight dinner before the bouts.

For now, UFC 322 will go on without Trump in attendance, an absence that is notable given his recent pattern of attending major UFC events in New York as part of his political strategy to stay connected to the sport’s fan base.