New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani revealed what happened during his White House meeting with President Donald Trump last week.

When the democratic socialist was asked what was the “strangest thing” he saw during the visit in an appearance on “The Adam Friedland Show,” he said he was sitting waiting for his meeting with the president when he saw “all these different coffee table books” in front of him.

“One of them is ‘UFC in the White House,’” Mamdani said, adding that he had “no idea” about the mixed martial arts event to be held on the South Lawn in June. “I was just flipping through that.”

When Friedland asked Mamdani if ​​he had seen photos of guys fighting each other in the book, he noted that it was just a visualization of what the UFC’s octagon-shaped arena cage would look like on the South Lawn.

FILE – President Donald Trump (center) and UFC President and CEO Dana White (left) attend UFC 316 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on June 7, 2025.
FILE – President Donald Trump (center) and UFC President and CEO Dana White (left) attend UFC 316 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on June 7, 2025.

ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS via Getty Images

UFC president and CEO Dana White, in an interview with News in September, revealed that the seating capacity for the event would be around 5,000, citing safety concerns. This marks a notable drop from Trump’s initial estimate of up to 25,000 viewers.

White, who has endorsed Trump since his 2016 campaign, has also claimed that a park near the White House could hold 85,000 people to watch the event on television screens. He told Sports Business Journal in October that his company would pay $700,000 to replace the White House lawn after the event.

Friedland asked Mamdani if ​​he planned to attend the event.

“No,” Mamdani replied with a smile.