Do we think UFC knew of this prior to Donald Trump’s announcement that he wanted UFC fights on The White House lawn this summer or the UFC scrambled to make this a vision? On July 4th, Donald Trump gave a speech and among his ramblings pronounced that on the 250th Anniversary of the United States, there would be UFC at The White House.
This announcement of male-testosterone fueled fighting is staged. But, we know that the president is not in his right mind.
Yet, to Dana White’s credit he took this news and ran with it.
Early estimates suggest that the UFC is spending up to $700,000 to create a set for this event. MMA media has created its own ecosystem of discussing fights to be on this card. Conor McGregor provided a list of demands for him to return to Octagon to appear at The White House card. Jon Jones threw his name into the hat as fighters that would want to be at this event. Recently, Francis Ngannou went on Ariel Helwani’s show to announce that his PFL contract was expiring in early 2026 and he wanted to be on The White House card to face Jon Jones.
Recently, there have been fighters that have eschewed the notion that they would be on the card. Notably, Brandon Royval and Sean Strickland have indicated that they do not want to fight on the lawn of The White House.
Royval referred to it being like The Hunger Games with elites watching the working class fight for their pleasure. Strickland referred to the Epstein Files when asked why he didn’t want to go to The White House.
With that being said, the UFC have made news with the preparation of the event even releasing renderings of what it may look like.
The one huge issue that has not been reported is the obvious fact that the UFC, nor this administration, were going to sell tickets to watch the fights in person. The plan is to have screens nearby for UFC fans.
Another issue is the fact that the event is outdoors. An issue White has had with in the past. He does not like outdoor events due to the uncertainty with the weather.
The date of the event has moved from July 4th to Trump’s birthday on June 14th.
It’s worthy to note that no one has questioned the fact that the U.S. government is likely funding a portion of this effort to have fights at The White House. This stems from the extra security needed for this undertaking with fighters and coaches needing access to areas usually not granted by regular citizens, let alone by fighters and coaches not citizens. Moreover, the U.S. government is bending over for the UFC to do what it wants to make this event happen for Trump.
What would be funny is if this event never occurs. The UFC is hot right now but they are selling a high expectation for this event and if it does not deliver, everyone will know.
Leave a Reply