“It was f---ing awesome!” UFC President Dana White is doubling down on his wild take of the recent White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting, and he’s not backing down.
White, who faced a storm of criticism for his initial comments, continues to describe the chaotic scene at the Washington Hilton as “awesome,” even as the world reels from the implications of an assassination attempt on Donald Trump.
As chaos erupted and guests were evacuated, White’s choice of words raised eyebrows. MMA journalist Ariel Helwani and UFC legend Matt Brown were among those who slammed him for his tone-deaf remarks. Helwani likened White’s reaction to a dad enjoying a day at a water park while ignoring the life-threatening situation unfolding around him. Brown was left “absolutely flabbergasted.”
But White remains unrepentant. “It was badass, it was incredible,” he told listeners on 'The Jim Rome Show.' He recounted the moment: “I was sitting next to Pete Hegseth when suddenly there’s breaking glass, plates shattering, and people screaming ‘Get down on the floor now!’”
.@DanaWhite shares his experience from inside the White House Correspondents' Dinner attack. pic.twitter.com/d2BUGU3lHT
— Jim Rome (@jimrome) May 7, 2026
He vividly described the scene: “I turned around, and there were like 50 Secret Service agents with their guns drawn rushing through the place. After they cleared the stage, it was lined with guys pointing guns down at us with lights on them.”
Adrenaline pumping, White said he was “bouncing off the walls” for hours after the incident. “To be involved in something like that and nobody gets hurt? It was badass.”
When asked if he complied with the Secret Service’s orders to get down, White simply replied, “No,” before launching into a bizarre reflection on his mindset during the chaos.
“I wanted to see what was going on. I’m taking this in,” he said, excitement bubbling over. “If someone’s in here with a gun and gonna shoot me in the back like a fish in a barrel, I got bad news for my family; it’s going to be a closed casket. I’m getting shot in the face, okay? That’s how that’s gonna end. I’m not laying on the floor waiting for someone to shoot me.”
White concluded with a mix of bravado and disbelief: “I sat up, took it all in, and it was an amazing - hopefully one of one - experience. Nobody got hurt, and it was incredible.”
Given the backlash from his earlier comments, it’s clear that White will likely face renewed criticism for his latest reflections on that night at the Washington Hilton. His excitement about the incident remains as palpable as ever.
