By Mark Suleymanov and Patrick Reilly
Former President Donald Trump arrived at UFC 302 to an uproarious standing ovation on Saturday — just days after he was found guilty in his Manhattan trial.
Trump, flanked by UFC President and long-time pal Dana White, was met with massive cheers as he entered the The Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
The former commander-in-chief shook dozens of hands and waved a fist to the crowd as he made his way to his ringside seat, stopping briefly to say hello to UFC commentator and comedian Joe Rogan.
“The round of applause he’s getting right now is pretty staggering,” Rogan said on the broadcast.
Trump’s appearance comes just two days after a Manhattan jury convicted him of 34 criminal charges of falsifying business records in a scheme to influence the 2016 presidential election.
He was found guilty of making a $130,000 “hush money” payment to his former “fixer” lawyer Michael Cohen to pay off porn star Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about an alleged one-night stand with Trump.
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Trump has vowed to appeal, saying that “we’re fighting for our Constitution.”
Trump is a massive mixed martial arts fan and frequently attends UFC events where he’s largely beloved by the sport’s raucous audience who seem unbothered by his legal woes.
White told Deadline this week that his and Trump’s friendship goes back 20 years.
Saturday night’s card features 12 fights, headlined by top-ranked lightweight champion Islam Makhachev pitted against fourth-ranked Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier.
