LAS VEGAS -- The Oxford University debate club has invited Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White to speak to its members.

Ultimate Fighting Championship officials told The Associated Press that the 187-year-old Oxford Union Society has invited White to speak Oct. 13.

UFC president Dana White is scheduled to visit Oxford's student debate society in October. Anthony J. Causi/Icon SMI

The society has been known for its ties to the upper tiers of politics, and past speakers include Sir Winston Churchill, Robert Kennedy and Yasser Arafat. The late Benazir Bhutto was once club president when she was a student, long before she was prime minister of Pakistan.

Other past speakers at the club are former U.S. presidents Jimmy Carter, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, as well as Malcolm X, Stephen Hawking and Albert Einstein.

White said he's expecting to respond to tough questions with straight answers.

"Anyone who knows anything about me knows I always speak my mind and am very passionate about what I do, and the Oxford Union was founded on exactly those principles," White said in a statement released by UFC. "I'm looking forward to meeting the students, and I know they have a reputation for asking tough questions and expecting straight answers from their guests. That's exactly what they'll get from me."

An Oxford Union Society officer said the group was looking forward to hearing from White.

"As president of UFC, Dana has created a billion dollar global sports company in less than a decade and we look forward to hearing his take on the rise of the UFC and giving us greater insight into this phenomenon," said Ash Sangha, the group's vice president, according to the statement.

White also will visit the Oxford Union Library and meet with Oxford Entrepreneurs, another campus student society, during his visit.

White will be in England for UFC 120, which is scheduled for Oct. 16 in London.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.