(CBrief) – Former President Donald Trump is a fight fan, and fans of his got to see him — and the fights — during a UFC event Saturday night.

Trump was cheered by tens of thousands of fans when he made a surprise appearance at UFC 290 with the league’s CEO, Dana White.

“The 45th president of the United States was his usual social self, interacting with fans by shaking hands and talking for a few moments as he made his way toward the octagon,” Fox News reported.

“It was a total shock to everyone in the building, including the broadcasters of the event as they reacted with surprise when Trump was shown on the big screen. However, Trump is a big UFC fan and a good friend of White, who spoke for him at the 2020 Republican National Convention,” the report added.

Trump enjoyed a prime seat near the octagon, providing him with an excellent view of the event. Throughout the fights, he was spotted engaging in conversations and taking pictures with numerous people in his vicinity. Additionally, Joe Rogan made a deliberate effort to connect with Trump during breaks from his broadcasting responsibilities.

At one point, one of the fighters hopped over the fence of the octagon and came over to shake Trump’s hand, as well as that of White.

“There was even a UFC fighter, South Africa’s Dricus Du Plessis, who jumped over the cage after winning his bout with Robert Whittaker in the middleweight division to shake Trump’s hand as well as White’s,” Fox News said, reporting the incident.

Du Plessis scored a second-round knockout over Whittaker.

“This isn’t the first UFC event Trump has attended, as he’s been spotted at multiple events, including UFC 244 while he was president,” Fox reported, adding: “Trump has also been spotted at UFC 287 next to Kid Rock and former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson.”

Meanwhile, Trump not only remains a potent force within the Republican Party, but a new report says he is dominating the early primary race like no one in modern history.

According to polling experts who spoke to The Daily Caller, Trump’s lead in most surveys is so dominant that it has to be disheartening to the rest of the GOP field.

The outlet noted further:

This Republican primary cycle is like none other as the frontrunner is a former president, has a massive lead in the polls, his former vice president is running against him and Trump has two federal indictments under his belt. Polling analysts stressed to the DCNF the stark difference between this GOP primary season and previous cycles, arguing that it’s difficult to draw comparisons in modern history.

“This GOP primary is truly unprecedented because Trump is not technically an incumbent, but Republican voters seem to be treating him as at least a quasi-incumbent,” Kyle Kondik, a polling analyst and managing editor for the nonpartisan Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, told the outlet.

“This really is a unique cycle, at least since we’ve used primaries and caucuses as the primary vehicle to nominate our presidential candidates. In that time, we haven’t had an incumbent president lose a reelection and run again, much less lead in the polls,” Jon McHenry, a vice president at North Star Opinion Research and a GOP polling analyst, added.

“Is there a comparable election? Nope. And that’s fine,” Nathan Klein, pollster for OnMessage Inc., told the outlet. “The one thing Americans, and especially the GOP primary electorate, don’t want is to do things the way they have been done.”

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