Mark Shapiro gave his standard quarterly earnings call report for Q4 of 2025 earlier this week. He gave an update on the big White House card the UFC is having this June.
Mark Shapiro explained the reason for the White House event and why TKO is spending upwards of $60 million on the event. “We expect this to be a once-in-a-lifetime event that will showcase our brand on an unmatched scale,” said Shapiro.
Shapiro explained that they are looking to recoup some of the expenditures with “sellable inventory” in and around the June event. Translated, they will sell sponsorships , ads, vendors parking, merchandise, and almost anything to recoup half the cost. So, without saying, Shapiro hopes to sell at least $30 million in “inventory” during the weekend. One might infer that they may lean heavy on its current, past and potential sponsors for this event. This would likely include anyone within the realm of the TKO sponsorship/advertising family and those with ties to the Trump administration.
News from Puck dropped on the day before the earnings call that the event would include weigh-ins and possible events at the Lincoln Memorial. The scale of the event is being tempered based on logistics of the lawn of the White House and the actual amount of capacity it can hold.
Payout Perspective:
I’m not sure we can feel sorry for TKO for losing money on putting an event on at the White House. MMA media has been hovering over this card since the president off the cuff announced it last year. Moreover, the mainstream media (if that’s a thing anymore) will be covering this “spectacle.” The losses can be consumed without a blip by the organization at this point as it has increased its target revenues for 2026. So, I doubt there’s a long-term concern.
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