Written by Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
The UFC is coming to the White House.
On Thursday at a rally in Iowa, President Donald Trump announced plans to host a UFC event on the ground of the White House sometime in 2026 as part of his ambitious plans to celebrate 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in the United States.
“Does anybody watch UFC?” Trump said to his supporters in attendance. “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.
“We’re going to have some incredible events. Some professional events, some amateur events but the UFC fight’s going to be a big deal, too.”
Of course, Trump maintains a close friendship with UFC CEO Dana White, who has often spoken for the president in the past including appearances at the Republican National Convention and even stumping for him during appearances ahead of the 2020 election.
Trump is a regular fixture at many UFC events including the recent UFC 316 card in New Jersey where numerous athletes leapt over the octagon to greet the president sitting cageside.
While the UFC has held events in Washington D.C. previously, it would be a first for a major sporting event to actually take place on the grounds of the White House. How exactly that would unfold remains to be seen but the UFC also posted the clip on the promotion’s Instagram account.
Trump unveiled numerous ideas he has for American 250 including the Patriot Games, which will pit youth athletes from all 50 states in various events to compete against each other.
Trump’s announcement also assuredly adds yet another piece to the puzzle for the UFC as the company continues to negotiate a new broadcast rights deal in 2026. The chance to showcase the first ever sporting event at the White House is certainly a cherry on top of whatever partnership the UFC brokers with the promotion reportedly seeking around $1 billion per year as part of the new deal.