UFC CEO Dana White has said that there will be a cage fight on the South Lawn of the White House as part of the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the U.S.
“That is going to happen,” he told Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Gay on Monday.
President Donald Trump, who has attended a number of UFC fights, said early last month that he would host a bout at the White House to mark 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
“Every one of our national park battlefields and historic sites are going to have special events in honor of ‘America250’ and I even think we’re going to have a UFC fight,” Trump said on July 3 during a speech in Des Moines, Iowa.
Trump said at the time that White would organize the event, adding that it’s going to be a “championship fight, full fight, like 20,000 to 25,000 people, and we’re going to do that as part of ‘250’ also.”
Following his new agreement with Paramount, which is set to hand UFC $7.7 billion over seven years, White told The Journal that the event would be broadcast “probably on CBS.”
This comes as UFC’s $550 million a year deal with ESPN comes to an end.
White, who’s an ally of Trump, told The Journal that several players in the media wanted a part in the future of UFC. There was consideration of splitting the franchise across a number of carriers, as the NBA and NFL have done.
“Last minute, these guys came in and said, ‘You know what? We don’t want to share. We want it all.’” White said of Paramount.
“What I do love about [the deal] is that the product is much more affordable for everybody,” he claimed.
UFC doesn’t have an athletes’ union, and the fighters are independent contractors. When White was asked if the new agreement would prompt fighters to bargain collectively, he said, “I can tell you this—since day one, fighter pay just continues to go up. Every new deal we get, it’s definitely good for the fighters.”
Looking ahead to next year, White said, “Fighters will be warming up in the White House. It’s incredible.”
However, there are logistical problems to be solved.
“My Octagon is like 25,000 pounds,” White noted. UFC fights usually take place in large stadiums.
“I don’t give a s*** if there’s only one seat at this thing,” White told The Journal. “This is so monumental and historical and just such a cool thing. All I care about is the Octagon on the lawn and the fight happening with the backdrop being the White House and the Washington Monument.”
Asked if UFC fighters are already hoping to get the nod, White said, “hell yes.”
A number of UFC fighters, both current and former, have expressed interest in fighting at the White House. They include Conor McGregor, who hasn’t fought since 2021, and Jon Jones, who has said that he may reverse his retirement to take part.
However, Russian fighter Khamzat Chimaev recently played down his chances of getting to fight at the White House when speaking to MMA Junkie.
“Bro, look at my face,” he said. “I don’t think they would let me come or whatever.”
