UFC CEO Dana White says the promotion will officially move forward with a fight card at the White House. White confirmed the July 4 event after a recent meeting with the Trump administration.
White said the White House meeting went tremendously, and that he’d have more details in the coming weeks. The mixed martial arts event will be the first professional sporting event to take place on White House grounds.
“We had the meeting at the White House. It could not have gone better,” White said via social media on Thursday. “This is going to be awesome. The White House fight is on. I’ll have more details on that in the next couple of weeks, but we got it done today.”
White previously detailed the logistical challenges with hosting such an event. Primarily, how well the White House grounds are suited to hold the UFC Octagon.
“The difference with the White House is I don’t think they’ve ever had anything very heavy out on the lawn, and the Octagon alone weighs 20,000 pounds,” White told reporters at July’s UFC 318 post-fight press conference.
White previously hinted that the card could take place on the South Lawn. President Trump originally proposed the idea during Independence Day this year. The President suggested that the White House could accommodate 20,000 to 25,000 spectators for the event.
White has not shed light on which fighters could compete on the card. Former two-division UFC champions Jon Jones and Conor McGregor have both petitioned to be on the card. White specifically said there’s “a billion to one” chance Jones competes at the event, claiming he can’t trust Jones to follow through.
President Trump and the UFC have a rich history together. The UFC held several events at Trump’s Taj Mahal in Atlantic City as the promotion struggled in its early days. President Trump has attended several UFC events while in office. Notably, White introduced President Trump at the 2024 National Convention.
