Dana White played a role in ballerina’s release from Russian prison

UFC president Dana White has explained how he played a role in the release of Ksenia Karelina, a Russian-American who was imprisoned in February 2024.

For those who don’t know, Ksenia Karelina was serving a 12-year maximum security sentence in Russia after donating $50 to a pro-Ukraine charity. She was arrested last year when visiting her family, and there have been several attempts to orchestrate her release from jail ever since then.

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As it turns out, Dana White wound up playing a notable role in the ordeal. We’ve seen Dana work hard on a parade of different matters in the name of getting justice for those close to him in the past, and it seems as if he’s done it again.

In a recent post-fight press conference, White spoke about how he used his relationship with US president Donald Trump to make this happen.

White aids with release of Russian-American from prison

“When we had the fight in Australia in Sydney, I got a call from a friend of mine who asked if he could come by my hotel room and talk to me,” White said. “He told me the story and then asked if I would go to the president, because I guess they’ve been working for a year with the old administration, trying to get her released and couldn’t get it done.

“So they asked if I would talk to Trump and I said ‘Of course’. So I called [Trump] and he said ‘yeah, let me see what I can do’. And literally in three weeks, he had her out…she FaceTimed me two days ago, what an incredible, sweet, positive human being she is. President Trump and [Russian President Vladimir Putin], give them both credit for getting her out.”

Quotes via Bloody Elbow

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