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Trump announces UFC fight at White House
(NOVEMBER 2025) - President Trump just announced that a UFC fight will take place at the White House grounds next year. A championship fight will take place around July 4th, 2026.
More details about the UFC cage match that will take place at the White House in early summer are slowly being released.
Here’s what we know:
UFC Freedom 250
The backstory:
The White House fight card was originally proposed to be on the Fourth of July. President Donald Trump said last summer he wanted to stage a UFC match on the White House grounds with upwards of 20,000 spectators to celebrate 250 years of American independence.
FILE - President-elect Donald Trump holding the UFC heavyweight championship belt after the UFC heavyweight championship fight between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic during the UFC 309 event at Madison Square Garden on November 16, 2024 in New York City. …
Timeline:
The match, known now as UFC Freedom 250, will take place on June 14 instead – timed for Trump’s 80th birthday and as part of the nation’s 250 anniversary.
Dig deeper:
The league is planning to issue 85,000 free tickets for the event.
Trump said UFC boss Dana White, a longtime friend, will build "a 5,000-seat arena right outside the front door of the White House" and eight large screens in a nearby park for ticket-holders to watch from afar.
Renderings posted on the White House X account several months ago show what the arena could look like.
Details haven’t been released yet on how to get tickets, or when they may be available.
RELATED: America's 250th anniversary sparks travel rush
How to watch:
The show will be aired on Paramount+ with prelims beginning at 4 p.m. ET. The main card starts at 8 p.m. ET.
The card:
The card features two championship fights.
Brazil’s Alex Periera will meet France’s Ciryl Gane for the interim UFC heavyweight title. Then Spanish-Georgian lightweight champion Ilia Topuria takes on interim champ Justin Gaethje, one of just two Americans who currently hold even a share of the UFC’s 11 championship belts.
READ MORE: UFC’s White House fight card revealed: Here’s the lineup
By the numbers:
The president of the sports entertainment group TKO, Mark Shapiro, reportedly said in a quarterly financial call last month that the event would cost about $60 million — but was adamant that TKO would not turn any kind of profit.
What they're saying:
"We will not be making money on America’s 250th anniversary," Shapiro reportedly said in the same call. "This is an investment for the long term. This is about earned media; this is about sampling new fans, casual viewers, a spectacle — a stage — that will ultimately expand our audience, our viewership and our success on Paramount+."
The Source: Information in this article was taken from UFC, The Associated Press and reported remarks from TKO president Mark Shapiro as reported by MMA Junkie. This story was reported from Detroit.