Dana White has revealed his 'surprising' reaction to the murder of Charlie Kirk.
Last week, the conservative political activist was fatally shot while taking part in a campus debate at Utah Valley University. The father of two was a close ally of President Donald Trump and had become an influential voice for young people through his social media presence.
Following his death, Trump confirmed that Kirk will be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Tyler Robinson, 22, has been charged with Kirk's murder and appeared in court via video link on Tuesday.
News of Kirk's killing shocked people around the world, with video footage of the shooting quickly spreading across social media. The latest high-profile figure to speak out was the UFC President Dana White, who promoted Terence Crawford's victory over Canelo Alvarez at the weekend.
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Speaking on the IMPAULSIVE podcast, White said: "I just woke up and my phone was blowing up and yeah I was f*****g blown away, especially when the video footage started coming out.
"Now they've grabbed this kid, who was a college kid. This kid hit him like 200 yards away, it's so crazy.
"I was actually surprised by how impacted my kids were, they used to watch him on social media.
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My daughter, she's 19, she's in college and she's been destroyed over this thing for the last couple of days.
"You have to feel horrible for his family, and yeah its f*****g crazy."
How did UFC stars react to Kirk's murder?
Figures across the sporting world, including several from combat sports, have shared their reactions. Former UFC star Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson was on a live stream when he first heard the news.
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He said: "What? He died? Ohhh he died, Charlie Kirk died. That's sad, for having an opinion about things."
Current UFC fighter Sean Strickland also weighed in, posting a video to Instagram.
"Alright guys... I'm on Twitter and somebody says, 'Hey did you hear that Charlie Kirk got shot?' And my gut reaction was like, 'No I f*****g didn't, but I'm excited," said Strickland.
"Like I felt this little dopamine spike in me where I'm like, 'Dude I wanna see the video.' And then I see in the video, real bad, real bad, but I still kind of excited from it. Like, oh s**t, you know?
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"Like I could feel like my muscles tensing. And then I start thinking, man, well what's gonna come from this?"
Topics: Dana White, Donald Trump, UFC
James Taylor