Every other governor in America ran from the UFC when the world shut down.
DeSantis called Dana White and said come on in.
Now Florida is the only state in the country where you can put that loyalty on your license plate.
The Story No Other Governor Wanted Any Part Of
It was May 2020.
Every major American sports league had folded under COVID pressure.
The NBA. MLB. The NFL. Gone.
Dana White refused.
He called governor after governor looking for a state willing to host live UFC events while the rest of the country cowered.
One governor said yes.
White flew his fighters to Jacksonville – and Ron DeSantis stood next to him at the press conference while the media called them both reckless, dangerous, and irresponsible.
The event sold out in minutes.
https://twitter.com/RonDeSantis/status/2043506918300205509?s=20
White later told Tucker Carlson on Fox News how he felt about it: "Florida was massive for us. I would equate Florida to Abu Dhabi during these times."
Abu Dhabi is where White had sent fighters when no government on earth would touch him.
DeSantis was the American version.
What Five Years of Partnership Looks Like
That moment in 2020 didn't end the relationship – it started it.
DeSantis sat cageside next to Dana White at UFC 273 in Jacksonville in 2022, getting a loud reception from a sold-out arena.
White introduced Donald Trump on the final night of the 2024 Republican National Convention.
And last week, DeSantis signed a bill making Florida the first and only state in America with an official UFC specialty license plate.
Fight fans can already grab a presale voucher online while the final design gets approved.
The UFC's biggest event of 2026 – UFC 327, a light heavyweight championship card at Kaseya Center in Miami – is in Florida right now.
https://twitter.com/AndySlater/status/2042738588966646238?s=20
Not New York. Not California. Florida.
What $126 Billion Buys in California
While DeSantis was building a real partnership with one of the most successful sports organizations in the world, Gavin Newsom was doing something else.
California voters approved high-speed rail in 2008.
The original price tag was $33 billion.
The current estimate is $126 billion.
Amount of track laid after 13 years of construction and $18 billion spent: zero.
A Republican congressman from California told 60 Minutes this year: "There are no trains. There's no track laid. It was a complete bait and switch."
California's own transportation secretary admitted on CBS: "There were mistakes made. Some of the criticisms on this project, I think, are very fair."
The Trump administration pulled $4.2 billion in federal funding from the project last year after finding nine separate compliance failures – including a $7 billion funding gap the state couldn't explain.
Florida signed a UFC license plate bill.
California has a $126 billion ghost train.
The Reason This Matters Beyond the Plate
Here's what Dana White understood long before the media did.
The UFC's audience is the same audience that votes Republican.
Men who work with their hands. Veterans.
People who think competition is good and toughness is a virtue and the country has spent twenty years trying to teach both out of us.
When DeSantis said yes in 2020 – when everyone else said no – he wasn't just helping a sports league.
He was signaling which side he was on.
The license plate formalizes it.
A UFC plate on a Florida truck is a statement that says: not everyone has given up on the idea that outcomes should be earned, that physical courage matters, and that a governor's job is to get out of the way and let his people live.
California's governor spent those same years locking people in their houses and building a train that will never run.
Sources:
- Dan Hiergesell, "Governor DeSantis approves UFC-themed license plate for state of Florida ahead of UFC 327," MMAmania.com, April 11, 2026.
- "Dana White Says Ron DeSantis and Florida Were 'Massive' for UFC Amidst COVID-19," Sportskeeda, September 2022.
- "DeSantis Gets Roaring Welcome at UFC Event," Washington Examiner, April 2022.
- "Dana White to Introduce Trump at 2024 RNC," Fox News, July 2024.
- Rep. Vince Fong, quoted in "California High-Speed Rail Cost Estimate Balloons to $126 Billion," Fox News, April 2026.
- California High-Speed Rail Authority, Draft 2026 Business Plan, February 28, 2026.
