According to UFC CEO Dana White the Ultimate Fighting Championship will stage a professional mixed martial arts event at the White House in 2026.
“We had the meeting at the White House. It could not have gone better,” White announced via social media. “The White House fight is on. I will have more details on that in the next couple weeks. We got it done today.”
The announcement culminated months of planning that began when Trump first floated the idea during a campaign rally in Iowa, telling supporters: “Does anybody watch UFC? The great Dana White. We’re going to have a UFC fight on the grounds of the White House. We have a lot of land there. Dana’s going to do it. Dana’s great, one of a kind. We’re going to have a UFC fight, a championship fight, like full fight, 20, 25,000 people and we’re going to do that as part of 250 also.”
Originally scheduled for July 4, 2026, to coincide with America’s 250th Independence Day celebration, recent reports indicate the event has been moved to June 2026 due to logistical concerns. The fight will be part of the broader “America 250” festivities, a yearlong celebration commemorating the semiquincentennial of the United States.
Trump has been a longtime supporter of the organization, frequently attending fights and maintaining a close friendship with Dana White, who spoke at both the 2016 and 2024 Republican National Conventions.
The UFC octagon will be constructed on the White House South Lawn, with capacity for an estimated 20,000 to 25,000 spectators. Additional details emerging from reports include fighter weigh-ins at the Lincoln Memorial, with large screens potentially set up on the National Mall for viewing. Fighters may even warm up inside the White House itself before their bouts.
The event will be broadcast live on CBS as part of UFC’s new seven-year, $7.7 billion deal with Paramount Global, which begins in 2026.
White said with the event about eight months away, there are still a lot of details to finalize.
The use of the White House grounds for a live, mass-attendance sports event introduces security risks. Secret Service officials would have to vet thousands of ticket holders on the South Lawn. And the logistics of installing a 25,000-pound octagon, plus production equipment for a live broadcast, carry additional risks to infrastructure and public safety.
