When Trump first announced plans for the UFC to host a show at the White House, although an ambitious idea, it did not come as a surprise.

White has a long-standing friendship with Trump, who held some of the early UFC shows at one of his old properties, the Trump Taj Mahal, in 2001.

The friendship blossomed, with Trump appearing as a guest at numerous UFC shows, where he is the guest of honour with his own walk-out moment.

The friendship is compounded by White’s public endorsement of the president, and he became a key ally during the 2024 election campaign.

It is here where the lines between sport and politics blur, with the UFC – through the voice of White, who acts as the promotion’s mouthpiece – providing a platform for Trump’s politics.

Trump benefits by aligning himself with the UFC, which is embedded in themes like patriotism, toughness and machoism, because it leans into the image many of his political fans arguably support.

The UFC benefits from the relationship by reaching audiences through Trump’s global public platform when he attends shows and publicly endorses fighters, such as Colby Covington and Jon Jones.

Trump’s government also provide a powerful ally as the UFC seeks to tighten its grip on MMA in the US and be given the same opportunity in boxing.

The UFC has faced challenges to its business practices, paying out £281m in a 2025 lawsuit and facing two more from former fighters.

As Trump fronts the US-Israeli strikes in Iran and his approval rating at home falls, UFC White House may be a welcome distraction – and boost – for Trump on his birthday.

The show is not just an ambitious project. It is designed to be the cork-popping moment for Trump’s political relationship with White and the UFC.

Team USA has steamrolled the competition so far in the World Baseball Classic.

Kyle Schwarber hit a two-run homer and Gunnar Henderson had four hits and two RBIs in a 9-1 victory over Britain on Saturday night. 

The U.S. improved to 2-0 in Pool B at Houston. Britain fell to 0-2.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Kyle Schwarber #12 of the United States hits a home run during a World Baseball Classic Pool B game between Great Britain and the United States at Daikin Park on March 7, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Houston Astros/Getty Images)

Nate Eaton homered on Tarik Skubal’s first pitch to give Britain a quick lead it held until the fifth inning, but his teammates couldn’t muster anything else at the plate.

U.S. hitters had managed just one single when Ernie Clement reached on an error by third baseman Ivan Johnson to start the fifth. Pete Crow-Armstrong doubled before Clement scored on a wild pitch by Andre Scrubb to tie it at 1.

Kyle Schwarber of Team USA celebrates after hitting a two-run home run in the fifth inning during the 2026 World Baseball Classic Pool B game presented by Capital One between Team Great Britain and Team USA at Daikin Park on Saturday, March 7, 2026 in Houston, Texas.  (Rob Tringali/WBCI/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

Schwarber followed with a 427-foot drive that landed near the back of the second deck in right field to put the United States on top 3-1.

There were two outs in the inning when Henderson’s two-run single made it 5-1.

Aaron Judge, who homered in Friday night’s win over Brazil, knocked out a panel on the metal scoreboard with a 109.6 mph RBI single in a three-run sixth that pushed it to 8-1.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Cal Raleigh #29, Byron Buxton #25, and Roman Anthony #3 of the United States celebrate after scoring from an RBI double hit by Brice Turang #13 of the United States in the fifth inning against Brazil during the 2026 World Baseball Classic Pool B game between the United States and Brazil at Daikin Park on March 6, 2026 in Houston, Texas.  (Kenneth Richmond/Getty Images)

Skubal allowed two hits with five strikeouts in three innings. It’s scheduled to be the only start of the tournament for the two-time defending AL Cy Young Award winner, who will return to spring training with the Detroit Tigers on Sunday.

Britain plays Italy on Sunday. The Americans are off until reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes pitches Monday night against Mexico.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Russell’s pole position – 0.8 seconds clear of the fastest non-Mercedes car – had sent shockwaves through the paddock on Saturday but the race was initially much closer than qualifying.

Both Ferrari drivers made their expected electric starts, and Leclerc vaulted from fourth on the grid to take the lead at the first corner.

Russell powered past the Ferrari on lap two between Turns 10 and 11 by using extra electrical energy.

But Leclerc was not to go down without a fight and drove past the Mercedes in a similar fashion on the run to Turn Nine on lap three.

Russell tracked Leclerc closely, challenging him into Turn One on lap nine only for the Ferrari driver to fend him off and leave Russell to fight to retain his position from Hamilton, who made it a three-car train in the lead.

Antonelli, who had dropped back to seventh at the start, then joined them to make it four cars in the leading group after 10 laps, and they circulated together until Isack Hadjar’s Red Bull retired on lap 12.

The Frenchman, who had been running fifth, pulled off on the back straight, bringing out the virtual safety car, usually the trigger for teams to pit and benefit from the reduced time loss compared with pitting under racing conditions.

But while Russell and Antonelli pitted, Leclerc and Hamilton did not. Hamilton immediately questioned the call, saying over the radio: “At least one of us should have pitted.”

Instead, they ran long, sticking to their pre-race plan of a one-stop strategy.

By the time Leclerc pitted on lap 25, Russell was only five seconds off the lead, and the Ferrari emerged 14 seconds behind.

On fresher tyres, Leclerc might have been expected to narrow the gap to Russell, but he did not, and the fight at the front was over.

ORLANDO — For a lot of us, golf is a night game. This website is owned by a company called 8AM GOLF and that’s a lovely image right there, on the first tee at 8 in the morn, birds singing, coffee kicking in, all that promise ahead. But what about the other side of the day, especially now with the extra hour of dusk light? What about nightfall golf? My press-tent pal Bill Fields has a new book called A Quick Nine Before Dark. Exactly.

When play resumed Saturday afternoon after an hour-long rain delay, here in the third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, Collin Morikawa and his caddie, Mark Urbanek, found themselves doing some math. When they made the turn, they realized they had two hours of daylight left, if that, on a hard course that doesn’t lend itself to quick play. The good news was that Morikawa’s playing partner was Rickie Fowler, one of the fastest players on Tour. They were the last group to get in, to finish their third round.

Morikawa is at nine under par, with Cam Young and Sepp Straka. They have played 54 holes in this Signature event and will all be able to sleep in Sunday morning. The two players ahead of them, Akshay Bhatia (11 under) and Daniel Berger (13 under) will be on the course at 8 a.m. Sunday, when play resumes. Sunday will be a long day’s journey into night for those two. Less so for the other chasers.

Advertisement

Morikawa was asked if he liked playing dusk golf, particularly as a kid.

“I think those days, when you were out there for a long time, you got a lot out of it,” he said. “Not just practicing, but having fun. You’re probably out there with some buddies, screwing around, getting in a couple more chips, a couple more putts, just to get it out of the system.”

Turns out, that’s good practice for contending in PGA Tour events, too.

Fowler and Morikawa holed out on 18 around 6:35 p.m., then walked through a dark tunnel under a grandstand. They crossed a road on their way to scoring and ended their workday, or nearly did. All that was left was to sign autographs, which Morikawa did at hyper-speed. Fowler signed at a languid pace, chatting up kids, posing for snaps, all in a manner that would have made Arnold Palmer proud. Morikawa had borrowed a Sharpie from Fowler and when he was done with it returned it to its original place, in Fowler’s back left pocket. They bade each other good night, in a manner of speaking.

Later, dude.

Yeah.

Something like that. The kids were still calling for Rickie by name.

Michael Bamberger welcomes your comments at Michael.Bamberger@golf.com.

NFL free agency starts in two days with “legal tampering,” and the Minnesota Vikings will embark on the process with interim general manager Rob Brzezinski in charge. Head coach Kevin O’Connell and defensive coordinator Brian Flores are expected to have heavy input on personnel, and here’s what folks know in the way of clues.

Minnesota’s next wave of moves is starting to come into focus.

The Vikings began the offseason severely over the cap, so free agency might be a bit different this time.

Several Early Signs Reveal Where the Vikings Could Pivot

March is here, and the Vikings’ roster is about to change.

1. Don’t Expect Splashy, Expensive Signings

For the 2026 Vikings, what you see on the roster in very early March might be what you get, for the most part.

Brzezinski said to ESPN this week: “We’ve spent a lot of money the last two years in free agency. And so our goal is going to be to keep our core in place, and that’s going to involve making some difficult decisions on some players, which you deal with on a daily basis.”

“But I think for the most part, our goal is going to be to draft and develop and to retain our core, and supplement with free agency. It just makes logical sense that that bill’s coming due. We do have to navigate it, and navigate it responsibly.”

That sounds like a man who’s been giving a directive to “take it easy” with the spending. The Vikings had their shots at fanciful splurges in the 2024 and 2025 free-agency periods; now is the time to be quieter.

2. A Collaborative Decision-Making Approach

Brzezinski was at the NFL Combine last month, and predictably, local media asked him about the confusing power structure. He replied, “We have to have protocol in place, and so the owners have asked me to handle that responsibility if that would occur. But our intent is to have complete and total collaboration, and I think the decisions are going to be pretty easy to make.”

“It’s an awesome responsibility. I’ve been here a long time. I know what this franchise means to our fans, and I just want to be a small part of one day delivering that championship.”

This sounds fabulous — in theory. All parties must work together in union and with cordiality. We shall see if that rings true.

Most expect O’Connell to have final say on offensive players, with Brian Flores pressing the button on defenders. Perhaps Brzezinski is the referee.

When you see “O’Connell guys” signed and “Flores guys” walk through that door, know that Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is no longer in the way.

3. A New QB Is Coming

After the regular season ended, O’Connell chatted with reporters for the 2025 autopsy press conference, and right away, they asked him about the 2026 quarterback strategy:

O’Connell declared, “Ultimately, I think in the quarterback room, it’s about having just the deepest, most talented room you possibly can, every single year. What that looks like at a pretty impactful position on your salary cap, when you’re able to possibly plan for your depth chart looking in a way where you can be competitive no matter what.”

“I think there has to be competition at quarterback. I think that’s what’s gonna make everybody better in that room. It’s gonna be what makes our entire offense thrive through that competition.”

This was new lingo. Last offseason, the Vikings cleared the forest for J.J. McCarthy to walk through it by himself as the uncontested QB1. That won’t happen again.

Kyler Murray is probably on the way to the Vikings — or Geno Smith or Aaron Rodgers if Murray picks a different team.

It won’t be McCarthy-or-bust again.

4. Two Big Trade Pieces — in Theory

Most don’t believe McCarthy will be traded; it’s too early for that. However, the Vikings allowed Jonathan Greenard’s status to go public this week, a report saying the club would be open to trading him if it can’t find the money in the budget for his extension. Somewhat realistically, Greenard could be traded next week or anytime, really, before the draft.

Meanwhile, due to Jordan Addison’s repeated and relentless shenanigans, there’s a small chance that Minnesota could trade him elsewhere for a 2nd- or 3rd-Round pick. Greenard is more likely to leave than Addison, but the fact that two of the team’s 10 best players are gettable via trade is rare and noteworthy.

Minnesota has until May 1st to lock in Addison’s fifth-year option. They’ll probably do it, but it would be ultra-telling if they do not.

Battling painful blisters on his foot and severe cramps, a gritty Lakshya Sen overcame Canada’s Victor Lai to storm into the final of the All England Open here on Saturday, moving within one win of ending India’s 25-year wait for the prestigious title.

It turned out to be one of the finest matches of his career as Lakshya fought for one hour and 37 minutes before sealing a 21-16, 18-21, 21-15 win over the 21-year-old Lai, who had claimed a surprise bronze at last year’s World Championships in Paris.

It will be Lakshya’s second appearance in the All England final after finishing runner up at the 2022 edition.

The 24-year old from Almora will now chase history when he takes on world No. 11 Lin Chun-yi of Chinese Taipei in the summit clash on Sunday.

Prakash Padukone (1980) and Pullela Gopichand (2001) are the only Indians to have won the All England title.

Apart from them, only Prakash Nath (1947) and Saina Nehwal (2015 runner up) came close with runner up finishes.

Lakshya displayed immense mental fortitude, resolute defence and precise strokeplay as he endured punishing rallies clocking as many as 86 shots, against the dogged Canadian.

The contest opened with a bruising 52 shot rally, setting the tone for a gruelling encounter as the two shuttlers probed each other’s defence with high tosses and sudden bursts of pace, staying neck and neck at 3-3 and 4-4.

Lai’s subtle deception mixed with high tosses often caught Lakshya off guard, but the Indian relied on his superior strokeplay to stay level at 8-8.

Lakshya moved ahead 10-8 only for Lai to respond with a straight smash and a fine net shot to restore parity.

Lakshya managed to take a slender one point lead at the break with a forehand drive before stepping up the attack with a series of accurate smashes and clever net play to surge ahead 18-16.

He soon grabbed four game points when Lai hit long and miscued another shot, before unleashing a barrage of aggressive strokes to clinch the opening game.

The second game began evenly but Lakshya had to briefly leave the court at 3-4 for medical attention to treat blisters on his foot.

Once play resumed, Lai rode on immaculate defence to open up a 9-4 lead, highlighted by a draining 59 shot rally that ended with a fortunate net cord.

Lakshya slowly clawed back with a mix of drops, precise backline pushes and sharp net play, but Lai maintained a four point cushion at the interval. The Indian fought back to draw level at 16-16 after producing a precise backline return and pouncing at the net.

However, Lai kept his composure, regaining the lead at 18-16 before earning two game points and forcing a decider when Lakshya sent a return wide.

In the deciding game, Lakshya moved to a 4-2 lead before Lai took a medical timeout after bruising his finger during a dive.

The Canadian levelled at 4-4 after resuming, but the momentum swung again when an exhausting 86-shot rally ended with the chair umpire awarding the point to Lakshya after ruling that the shuttle had brushed Lai.

Lakshya gradually built a cushion as Lai began to show signs of fatigue, moving ahead 9-6 before a thunderous smash and a sharp net exchange took him to an 11-7 lead at the interval.

The Indian received treatment for cramps on his thighs during the break and was later shown a yellow card for returning late to the court.

Despite struggling with severe cramps and visibly stretching his legs between points, Lakshya pushed ahead to 15-9 as Lai sprayed a return wide.

Errors crept in as the contest crossed the one hour 30 minute mark, allowing Lai to narrow the gap to 14-16 while forcing Lakshya to move constantly with high tosses.

But the Indian found another burst of energy, hammering a smash to move to 17-14 before pushing the lead to 18-15 when Lai hit wide.

A brutal smash then took Lakshya within two points of victory and Lai’s net error handed the Indian five match points. He sealed the memorable win with yet another thunderous smash.

Safia Middleton-Patel, Mia Ross, Mared Griffiths and Carrie Jones – who is still only 22 – were the four players drafted into the side in Llanelli this weekend, with Olivia Clark, Gemma Evans, Angharad James and Ffion Morgan making way.

While goalkeeper Middleton-Patel and Ross – who was deployed as one of three centre-backs – were part of a defensive unit who did not have that much work to do, Jones impressed in a central midfield role.

But it was Griffiths, the Manchester United youngster who is currently on loan at Sunderland, who took most of the plaudits.

“She’s got it all,” Wilkinson said after Montenegro were hammered 6-1 in Llanelli.

“And she’s far from the finished product, which is very exciting for all Welsh people I’d imagine.”

Griffiths, sporting the number 10 shirt which was worn so often by Fishlock, scored Wales’ third goal, which was handed to her on a plate following an error by Montenegro keeper Ajsa Kala.

But there was nothing gift-wrapped about Griffiths’ second of the afternoon, which was Wales’ only goal during a second half in which Montenegro sat deep and defended with much more conviction than they had in the first period.

Fed by Jones, Griffiths had the composure to round the onrushing Kala before stroking the ball home with her left foot.

Anticipation is building as Caitlin Clark prepares for her first competitive action with the U.S. women’s national team. The Indiana Fever star is set to take the court in next week’s FIBA World Cup qualifier in Puerto Rico.

A string of injuries sidelined Clark for much of the past eight months, limiting the NCAA’s all-time scoring leader to 13 games in her second WNBA season.

Clark’s last WNBA appearance came in July. She said Saturday she may be rusty and slightly nervous for the qualifier. 

“It’ll probably take me a second to knock a little bit of the rust off,” she said.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Caitlin Clark during the United States women’s basketball training camp at Duke University Dec. 13, 2025, in Durham, N.C. (Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)

“I’ll probably be a little bit nervous, which, I usually don’t get nervous, but that probably comes from I haven’t really played basketball in a while.”

But Clark projected that any rust would quickly wear off.

“I’m sure after the first minute of running around on the court, I’ll be just fine. But more than anything, just really excited. I know how much work and how much time I put in to make sure my body’s as healthy as it can be and to get back.”

Clark’s injury setbacks last year included a groin strain followed by an ankle bone bruise. The Fever’s medical staff closely monitored her recovery as she worked toward returning to the court.

Cameron Brink (33) celebrates with Caitlin Clark (17) during the United States women’s basketball team’s training camp at Duke University Dec. 13, 2025, in Durham, N.C. (Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)

Clark suggested that adversity has only reinforced her reliance on preparation and discipline.

“I’ve always been a person that’s going to just rely on my work. I feel like it’s certainly made me work harder,” the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year said, referencing her injury setbacks. 

“But that’s also probably the part that kind of stunk about it is I felt like I put in so much time and so much energy going into last season and then, obviously, only appeared in about 13 games.”

Clark did not compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics, but she reflected on the experience of seeing Team USA jerseys as a teenager and how that moment helped shape her dream of one day wearing one herself.

Caitlin Clark during the United States’ women’s basketball training camp at Duke University Dec. 12, 2025, in Durham, N.C. (Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)

“My eyes were so wide. Thought it was the coolest thing in the world of all,” she said. “[To see] the senior national jerseys of great men’s players and women’s players. It’s a 15- or 16-year-old’s dream of doing that one day.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

With the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics on the horizon, Clark said she remains focused on steady progress rather than looking too far ahead. 

“There’s a lot to get to that point,” she said. “Obviously, that’s my goal, the World Cup before that. There’s a lot for me to learn.”

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Anticipation builds as Caitlin Clark’s Team USA debut nears following lengty injury layoff

Related Article