American surfer Kelly Slater’s love for UFC is no hot-off-the-press news. A Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blue belter himself, Slater is often seen cheering for MMA fighters in his Instagram stories, like he did when Charles Oliviera registered a thrashing victory over Beneil Dariush in November 2023. Despite being such a die-hard follower, his equation with UFC President Dana White has not been the best so far. However, it now seems that the tables have turned.

Just a few months back, Slater made a probable dig at Dana White. Also, on many an occasion when Kelly has tagged him in UFC-reaction stories, White never validated the surfer’s expressions with a response. But Slater’s recent Instagram story features none other than White himself and has now quashed all the apathetic speculations.

Dana White video calls Kelly Slater- A new friendship unfolds?

Taking to his Instagram story, surfing veteran Kelly Slater has recently uploaded a video call screenshot. Displaying a smiling Dana White on the big screen, while an equally joyous Slater in the smaller grid, the image is sure to have pleasantly surprised many. Moreover, to clarify the context of the call, Kelly added a text. It read, ‘When @danawhite calls out of the blue hyped on a surf clip!’

Yes! Apparently, the same Dana White whose junk-eating habit was cheekily remarked on by Kelly Slater, unexpectedly rang him to discuss surfing. This signals a massive development in Slater’s bond with the UFC President. Moreover, White even reposted Slater’s Instagram story with a goat emoji, showing incredible respect towards the 11-time WSL champion.

Adding to the hype, Kelly even tagged the World Surfing League and Ultimate Fighting Championship official handles in his story. In reaction, the WSL page reposted the story with a question box and an open-ended query, ‘Which surf clip?’ While the followers attempted a guess, they might have surely wondered what transpired to have turned the tide between the two stars.

Regardless, it seems that this effort was made in sheer good spirit. And the fans of both sports communities will hopefully appreciate it. Not just that, a major curiosity now lingers – the possibility of a real-life meet-up between the two. While the answer to this lies in the future, the chances of a Slater-White in-person meet seem quite promising.

Kelly’s fondness for the Dana White-led MMA community

It has almost been second nature for Slater to root for his UFC favorites. Living up to this practice, in April 2024 when Max Holloway achieved a triumphant victory to be declared the BMF champion, Slater took to social media and bowed for this ‘craziest performance in UFC history.’

After that, another one of the surfer’s recent streaks of social media stories gives us an update. Kelly hosted fighter Max Holloway’s entire family at the Surf Ranch by Kelly Slater Wave Co. In this regard, Slater added to his story a super-fun video uploaded by Max and his wife Alessa. He even exclaimed, ‘What a day‘ it was and cited that everyone was ‘stoked to host them.’

The fact that Max referred to Slater as ‘brother’ in the caption shows that the two share a close-knit bond. On top of this, now with his newly displayed benevolence towards Dana White, we might potentially see a get-together soon on the cards.

What do you think of the evolving dynamics between these sports icons? Let us know in the comments.