Trump Being Booed at UFC 244 Event a Surprise, Says Political Scientist: 'This Should Be His Crowd'

President Donald Trump received heavy booing on Saturday night as he attended an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event in New York City.

Though some cheered upon the president's arrival into Madison Square Garden for UFC 244—who entered alongside his two sons, some high-ranking Republicans, UFC President Dana White and a handful of Secret Service agents—boos dominated from the sell-out crowd, according to videos shared on social media.

Read more Donald Trump Jr. Dismisses Booing at President's UFC 244 Appearance

A small anti-Trump protest was also staged outside the arena—New York's most storied venue that lies in the heart of the city that Trump had previously called his home.

A number of people tweeted footage of the booing and added their reactions to the jeering.

Ian Bremmer, a political scientist who founded the Eurasia Group, said: "Honestly surprised to see Trump booed at Ultimate Fighting Championship. This should be his crowd."

Another Twitter user, Keating Thomas, said: "Trump got booed at a UFC match? That's like if Bernie [Sanders] got booed at a vegan bakery in Brooklyn."

Honestly surprised to see Trump booed at Ultimate Fighting Championship. This should be his crowd. pic.twitter.com/r1O1Vs20SR — ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) November 3, 2019

Trump got booed at a UFC match? That's like if Bernie got booed at vegan bakery in Brooklyn. — Keating Thomas (@keatingthomas) November 3, 2019

It is the second time within a week the president was booed while attending a sporting event after also receiving a raucous reaction from baseball fans in game 5 of the World Series in Washington D.C.

Trump retweeted different footage of his entrance into UFC 244 which said his arrival had a "positive reaction," but was filmed so close to speakers that blared AC/DC's rock song "Back In Black" that it was difficult to distinguish whether the noise was boos or cheers.

Eric Trump also tweeted to say that the crowd was chanting "Donald Trump, Donald Trump... USA, USA," but this was shared with an image as opposed to a video. Signs reading "Remove Trump" and "Impeach Trump" could also be seen in the crowd.

#NEW: Pres. Trump arrives at Madison Square Garden to a positive reaction from the crowd ahead of #UFC244 . pic.twitter.com/OIz8R8IkRu — Tara LaRosa (@TaraLaRosa) November 3, 2019

Despite the negative reaction of fans, White of the UFC stood by Trump and said it was a big moment for the sport.

"It's amazing," he said in a press conference after the event. "If you had asked me ten years ago, I'd tell you the sport's going to do this and do that, but like baseball games for [George W.] Bush or like the NBA for [Barack] Obama and now the UFC has a president that attended one of the events. It's like one of the big deals. It's like we made it."

White was instrumental in developing the sport from being a humble sideshow to boxing to growing it into a multi-million-dollar company that boasts deals with ESPN and produces household names such as Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey.

The sport also faced numerous challenges in receiving mainstream acceptance as it was considered barbaric by some prominent figures and often compared to cock-fighting by politicians. The late Arizona Senator John McCain was among those to hold that view and he waged a long campaign to ban the sport.

Trump was among those who supported the UFC at its early days however, hosting its events when the sport was shunned by other venues.

"I would never say anything negative about Donald Trump because he was there when other people weren't," White added.