UFC White House: Date, stream details, potential card and how event will work with two different options
UFC CEO Dana White is set to finalise the White House card with President Donald Trump this week.
White has explained that he has completed matchmaking for the celebratory event with ‘two different options’ to be proposed to the President and White House staff before making an announcement.
In July, Trump revealed plans to hold a ‘championship fight’ to mark 250 years of American independence.
The 79-year-old, who is a friend of White, has attended several UFC events, including UFC 316 in New Jersey in June 2025 and UFC 314 in Miami two months prior.
Trump is a close ally of White, who gave a speech at the politician’s inauguration in early 2025.
His association with the chief MMA promotion dates back to 2001, when the now-closed Trump Taj Mahal hosted UFC 30 and UFC 31.
“Does anybody watch UFC? The great Dana White? We’re going to have a UFC fight,” Trump said, speaking in July.
“We’re going to have a UFC fight – think of this – on the grounds of the White House — we have a lot of land there.”
White has since made the event official before revealing remarkable images of what the epic card will look like on fight night.
His update came just a few weeks after the announcement of the promotion’s new $7.7billion broadcast deal with CBS and Paramount+, which started two big cards in UFC 324 and UFC 325 at the beginning of 2026.
UFC White House is set to be a historic first UFC event ever to be held in the home of the President, and it has got the entire MMA world talking.
UFC White House date and live stream
A date is yet to be officially confirmed, but Trump originally wanted the event to celebrate 250 years of American independence on July 4, 2026.
However, according to The Wall Street Journal, the date was moved to a day in June, as Trump already had many plans in the build-up to the day of the anniversary.
UFC White House is expected to take place on June 14, Trump’s 80th birthday, under the banner of his ‘Freedom 250’ initiative.
It will stream live on Paramount+ for US fans and TNT Sports on Discovery+ in the UK.
“The card won’t be on CBS, it’ll be on Paramount+ 100 per cent,” White told TheMacLife in December.
“Maybe we might do some prelims on CBS, but it will be on Paramount.
“Listen, we’re on Paramount+. There will be some fights on CBS, but we’re on Paramount+.”
Where exactly will UFC White House take place and how many people will be there?
White has confirmed the event will be held outdoors on the South Lawn of the White House.
“We literally just got done going through all the logistics of how to set it up there, how many people we can have,” he told CBS Mornings in January.
“It’s looking like we’ll have 5,000 people live on the White House lawn – on the South Lawn.
“Then, across the street is the park, it’s called The Ellipse, and we can have 85,000 people there.
“We’re gonna have big screens, a stage, music throughout the day.
“We’re basically going to take over DC that whole week with lots of different things for fight fans.
“The fighters will actually walk from the Oval Office to the Octagon.”
Reports suggest the National Mall will be used for fan interactions and meet-and-greets leading up to fight night, with the Lincoln Memorial set to host a press conference and weigh-ins.
Fighters are also expected to be allowed warm-up space in the White House itself.
White also revealed in October that he will have to stomach a mind-blowing $700,000 to replace the grass on the South Lawn, where the Octagon will be placed.
Who will fight on UFC White House card?
White has confirmed matchmaking for the UFC White House card is complete, although he still has to finalise two different options with President Trump.
“We have two different options laid out and the matchmaking process is already laid out,” White said after Zuffa Boxing 3 in February.
“We’ve been kicking around a lot of ideas and me and [UFC producer Craig] Borsari actually fly to DC this week to sit down with the President and his team and start walking them through not just the production but the fight card.”
Both Jon Jones and Conor McGregor have expressed their interest in fighting at the event, while a host of other UFC stars, including former bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley, have put their cases forward.
Although others, like UFC flyweight Brandon Royval and Paddy Pimblett, aren’t so fussed about making an appearance.
“This is a one-of-one experience,” White told the Spinning Backfist MMA Show in early 2026.
“It’s going to be incredible. Not just for the fighters and the fans, but the staff who get to work this event.
“I have 500 employees just in Vegas – everybody wants to work this thing.
“We’re going to have to be selective in who we pick to come work it.
“I’m going to have the department heads start giving me a list of who they think is going to go and who they want.
“We’re going to figure out how many we really need and how many we don’t.”
Ilia Topuria vs Justin Gaethje is reportedly the favourite to headline the White House card.
UFC lightweight champion Topuria returned to training in February after a messy divorce and has said he will be ready to fight Gaethje, who defeated Pimblett at UFC 324 to become the interim champion at 155lbs.
Will McGregor be on UFC White House card?
White has made it quite clear that he thinks McGregor would be the more reliable option between him and Jones for the White House.
“I trust Conor,” he said, explaining his stance on The Jim Rome Show.
“McGregor has never, unless seriously injured, this guy has always delivered. Jon, I’m a little more skeptical about.
“[Jones] already came back. He already put himself back in the testing pool, saying he wants to fight at the White House.
“He’s back, but we’re not talking about fights for him right now.”
McGregor, 37, hasn’t competed since losing back-to-back bouts to Dustin Poirier in 2021.
He was scheduled to return in June 2024 to fight Michael Chandler, but the bout was cancelled when the Irishman suffered an injured toe.
He teased his return to the Octagon in July by rejoining the UFC testing pool to compete in the wake of this supercard announcement.
In October, McGregor then informed the world that he had put pen to paper to make his comeback, and his coach, John Kavanagh, told Ariel Helwani the following month that he had started putting together a training programme for his return.
The Irishman has since made a full return to training at Straight Blast Gym (SBG) Ireland.
Will Jones be on UFC White House card?
Jones has not fought since beating Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 in November 2024.
That victory was his only defence of the heavyweight title, which he held for more than two years, before relinquishing upon his retirement in June, with Tom Aspinall elevated to undisputed champion.
Trump’s revelation prompted what seemed to be a retirement U-turn from ‘Bones’, as he set his sights on being part of the event.
“Fighting at the White House?” Jones wrote on X before revealing that he had re-entered the UFC’s testing pool.
However, UFC president White made it clear that he isn’t so keen on the idea of Jones featuring on the historic event.
After UFC 318 in July, he said: “You know how I felt about [Jones].
“I can’t risk putting him in big positions, in a big spot, and have something go wrong. Especially the White House card.”
Jones was left unimpressed by White’s comments, but has confidently vowed to earn his spot on the bill.
Writing on X, he said: “I heard the comments made at last night’s press conference.
“While I was a little disappointed, I’m still in the UFC’s drug testing pool, staying sharp, and continuing to train like a professional. I’ll be ready for whatever comes next.
“In a recent interview, I shared that the opportunity to fight at the White House gave me something deeper to fight for, a ‘why’ that goes beyond paychecks or belts.
“Fighting for my country gives me a greater purpose!
“The silver lining in all this is knowing the fans see my heart. They see, I am ready and willing to take on anyone, to represent my country on a historic stage.”
However, on August 17, 2025, White confirmed just how slim Jon Jones’ chances are of appearing on the UFC White House card.
“I would not bet on it,” White said after UFC 319.
“Let me ask you, what do you think Jon would do in the next couple of months that would make me trust putting him on the White House card?
“So I already said that I don’t trust him, and you’re asking me what could he do for me to trust him in the next three months? You don’t trust him!
“I don’t talk to him either. I haven’t talked to him at all. If I had to make odds, it’s a billion-to-one that I put Jon Jones on the White House card.”
Will Ronda Rousey return for UFC White House?
Rousey has been linked with a Hollywood-esque MMA return after a nine-year hiatus on the UFC’s White House card.
‘Rowdy’ sparked fan excitement by dropping some fresh training footage of her grappling on the mats.
She previously suggested that concussions sustained from her UFC career would prevent her from making a return.
The women’s MMA pioneer revealed to talkSPORT that she hid several medical issues from the UFC during her tenure with the company, as she feared she would be forced to retire.
She welcomed her second child to the world in January and publicly responded to calls for a comeback for the first time in September.
UFC schedule
UFC Fight Night 268 – February 21, Toyota Center, Houston
- Sean Strickland vs Anthony Hernandez – Middleweight
- Dan Ige vs Melquizael Costa – Featherweight
- Serghei Spivac vs Ante Delija – Heavyweight
- Jacobe Smith vs Seokhyeon Ko – Welterweight
- Zach Reese vs Michel Pereira – Middleweight
UFC Fight Night 269 – February 28, Arena CDMX. Mexico City
- Brandon Moreno vs Lone’er Kavanagh – Flyweight
- Marlon Vera vs David Martinez – Bantamweight
- Daniel Zellhuber vs King Green – Lightweight
- Edgar Chairez vs Felipe Bunes – Flyweight
- Imanol Rodriguez vs Kevin Borjas – Flyweight
- Santiago Luna vs Angel Pacheco – Bantamweight
UFC 326 – March 7, T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
- Max Holloway (c) vs Charles Oliveira 2 – Lightweight
- Renato Moicano vs Brian Ortega – Lightweight
- Caio Borralho vs Reinier de Ridder – Middleweight
- Gregory Rodrigues vs Brunno Ferreira – Middleweight
- Rob Font vs Raul Rosas Jr – Bantamweight
- Cody Garbrandt vs Xiao Long – Bantamweight
UFC Fight Night 270 – March 14, UFC Apex, Las Vegas
- Josh Emmett vs Kevin Vallejos – Featherweight
- Amanda Lemos vs Gillian Robertson – Women’s Strawweight
- Ion Cutelaba vs Oumar Sy – Light Heavyweight
- Marwan Rahiki vs Harry Hardwick – Featherweight
UFC Fight Night 271 – March 21, The O2, London
- Movsar Evloev vs Lerone Murphy – Featherweight
- Luke Riley vs Michael Aswell – Featherweight
- Michael Page vs Sam Patterson – Welterweight
- Iwo Baraniewski vs Austen Lane – Light heavyweight
- Roman Dolidze vs Christian Leroy Duncan – Middleweight
- Kurtis Campbell vs Danny Silva – Featherweight
UFC Fight Night 272 – March 28, Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle
- Israel Adesanya vs Joe Pyfer – Middleweight
- Alexa Grasso vs Maycee Barber 2 – Women’s flyweight
- Navajo Stirling vs Bruno Lopes – Light Heavyweight
- Chase Hoopes vs Lance Gibson Jr – Lightweight
- Marcin Tybura vs Valter Walker – Heavyweight
“I am not fighting at the White House,” the Californian said.
“After Mike Tyson being the biggest fight of the year, you never say never.
“But I ain’t fighting at the f***ing White House. Even if offered? I got better s*** to do.
“My kid needs pasta!”
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