President Donald Trump left UFC star Kayla Harrison in shock by kissing her on the cheek moments after she became a world champion with the promotion for the first time on Saturday night.
Harrison tapped out Julianna Pena at UFC 316 to win the women’s bantamweight championship with the Commander in Chief and daughter Ivanka Trump sitting cage-side for the bout.
After exiting the Octagon, the president and his team were situated on the walk back to the locker rooms in New Jersey.
The new champion walks over to Trump for a handshake, then a hug, with the 47th President then planting a smooch on her right cheek.
Harrison, 34, did not look disgusted at the intimate act at the 78-year-old. Instead, feet from Trump’s good friend and UFC owner Dana White, the former judoka looked honored.
Also while posing for a photo, Trump again wrapped his arms around Harrison, including putting his left hand on her exposed stomach.
President Donald Trump left UFC star Kayla Harrison in shock by kissing her on the cheek
Harrison tapped out Julianna Pena to win the women’s bantamweight championship
Trump was cage-side for the bout with his entourage and showed loved to the new champion
Post-kiss and before she departed the arena, Harrison put her new belt over Trump’s shoulder while the duo pointed at each other to get cheers from the crowd.
When entering the arena, Trump took a moment to shake hands with podcasters and former Tennessee Titans teammates Will Compton and Taylor Lewan before taking his seat, feet from the action.
Trump’s son Eric and son-in-law Jared Kushner were also on hand, as was US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. At one point the elder Trump and Rubio were seen sharing a fist bump while grinning into a nearby camera.
As always, UFC fans and fighters were excited to see Trump, who was showered with applause and later got a high five from Kevin Holland after his submission victory against fellow welterweight Vicente Luque.
Trump last attended a UFC event in April in Miami alongside billionaire Elon Musk, but the President’s relationship with his biggest donor has changed considerably since then.
On Saturday, Trump warned that Musk would face ‘very serious consequences’ if he was to start bankrolling Democratic candidates.
Their relationship disintegrated earlier this week as the former allies battled it out on social media after disagreeing on Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill.’
The title fight in Newark was only Harrison’s third fight with the promotion, as the two-time Olympic gold medalist quickly climbed the rankings.
