UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje and middleweight star Bo Nickal took the stage at the 2026 Republican Midterm Convention, delivering emotional speeches that tied their combat careers to their support for President Trump and the conservative movement.
Nickal, who wrestled at Penn State before transitioning to the UFC, opened by recounting his path from a heartbreaking loss in the 2016 NCAA finals as a freshman to a championship win the following year. He described the experience as a turning point in how he views success.
“I knew I needed to change my way of thinking and or I’d never be at peace. And I made a decision to prioritize my faith, my family, my character, and above successes and failures,” Nickal told the crowd.
He credited Trump directly for hosting a UFC event on the White House lawn, which Nickal competed in.
“I’d like to thank President Trump for allowing us to compete there. I mean, how amazing was that experience? Unbelievable. I’m truly just so grateful to have him in my corner.”
Nickal closed his remarks with a quote from Penn State wrestling coach Cael Sanderson: “We didn’t come here to win. We came here to fig ht.”
Gaethje followed with a speech tying his combat mentality to his political endorsement. He referenced his own performance at the White House event, where he entered as a 6 to 1 underdog against a Spanish opponent and won.
“I was competing for America that night and I was representing you,” Gaethje said, drawing cheers from the audience.
He praised Trump for hosting the event and inviting more than 1,000 U.S. troops to attend.
“Nobody else would have held a UFC event at the White House. And with it, he did phenomenal things for me and the sport of MMA as a whole. Thank you, President Trump, for doing that.”
Gaethje also urged attendees to prioritize voting in the midterms, comparing complacency in politics to complacency in the cage.
“If we are not just as passionate about voting and winning in these midterms as we were in the last presidential election, then we risk getting knocked out and losing all the momentum we have been competing for.”
