Back in 2023, the mayor gifted the Nelk Boys, a group of right-wing YouTube pranksters and his workout buddies, honorary keys to the city.
"Holy!! Got surprised with a key to the City from Mayor @francissuarez," Nelk Boys cofounder Kyle Forgeard wrote on Instagram in May 2023.
In 2025, Suarez continues his mission of honoring the bros. Ahead of Saturday night's UFC 314 event at the Kaseya Center downtown, Suarez presented an honorary key to UFC president and CEO Dana White "for his incredible impact on sports, entertainment, and the city of Miami."
"Today, we're giving the key to the city to Dana White, who has invested heavily in our city," Suarez said in a video compilation of Suarez bro-ing out with the UFC CEO. "This is the third UFC that they are doing consecutively that's provided tens of millions of dollars of economic benefits to our residents, hired hundreds of people for his events, [and] had a huge impact on our city.
"So we are very grateful for his impact in the city of Miami, for the fact he's a one-generation success story in America, which is what we see so much in our city."
Success story aside, White is no stranger to controversy.
On New Year's Eve 2023, the UFC president was captured on video slapping his wife in the face after she slapped him during an altercation in Mexico. In the days following the incident, White said he had no defense for the altercation, and the criticism he received was warranted.
More recently, White gave a warm welcome to right-wing influencer and self-described misogynist Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan — both of whom are accused of human trafficking in Romania — at UFC 313 in Las Vegas last month.This is the Dana White video in question for those who missed it. Pick an athlete, owner or coach in ANY other sport that could be caught on video slapping their wife and it just kinda goes away. pic.twitter.com/wwyw6M7Q2P
— Andreas Hale (@AndreasHale) January 3, 2023
"Welcome to the States, boys," White says to the Tates alongside Forgeard of Nelk.
White flashed a broad smile as he accepted the honor on Saturday.
"I've never gotten a key to a city before, not even Las Vegas, so this is my first," he says.
Interestingly, Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman actually appears to have presented White with a key to Sin City in 2018.
