Former UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub revealed during an appearance on the Autotopia LA Podcast that the UFC sent him a replica belt from the historic White House card, despite the fact that he has been unable to attend UFC events for years.
Schaub made clear he was not present at the event itself, citing the scarcity of available tickets.
“I did not get the invite. I mean, they only had between Dana and Trump, they had 600 tickets. So Dana got 200, Trump got 400,” he told the hosts, suggesting Trump likely distributed his allotment to political insiders.
Still, that did not stop the promotion from sending him something.
“I have a White House belt. They sent me a UFC White House belt that I have in my studio,” Schaub said, going on to call the evening “the greatest sporting event I’ve ever witnessed” and “the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.”
He added, “Salute to Dana for pulling off, Trump having the balls to take all the criticism that he had to deal with.”
The admission appears to be ironic, given that Schaub has been openly banned from UFC events for years. On a podcast episode in 2024, he linked his absence to the fallout from an antitrust lawsuit against the UFC, suggesting that the settlement had effectively closed the door on fig hters challenging the promotion over pay.
“Was it worth it? In hindsight now with antitrust lawsuit? They settled,” Schaub said. “In the contract, now it says figh ters cannot come after the UFC for figh ter pay anymore. The game is over. There’s nothing we can do.”
Schaub then admitted that, despite his love for the promotion, being unable to attend events has been difficult for him. “Was it worth it? I would say no. I can’t attend UFC events and I love the UFC,” he said. “I would go. It hurts my feelings.”
But years earlier, in 2016, he offered a more candid explanation on his podcast TFATK.
“It’s come to my attention, ‘Big Brown,’ and these aren’t my words, is too controversial and doesn’t fall in line like the rest,” Schaub said at the time. “I guess I’m unsupportive of certain issues that link up with the UFC. So you won’t see ‘Big Brown’ on ‘UFC Now’ anymore. I have been banned.”
A UFC official confirmed that Schaub had been removed from the rotation on “UFC Now,” though the organization declined to go into further detail. Schaub, a runner-up on TUF 20, expressed some frustration at the time but said he had no regrets because he was not willing to change his views to satisfy the promotion.
The White House belt story is contradictory. A man formally removed from the UFC’s media orbit and barred from its events is still receiving official commemorative merchandise from the organization.
