Sunday, June 14, 2026 | 2 a.m.
WASHINGTON — The opening of Dana White and the UFC’s roadworthy to the White House can beryllium traced backmost 25 years to erstwhile a fringe mixed martial arts promotion — astatine the clip inactive incapable to shingle the “human cockfighting” statement applied to the athletics years earlier by a U.S. legislator — ran a humble lawsuit called “Battle connected the Boardwalk.”
Making his archetypal quality arsenic UFC president, White was asked astir his goals for the fledging promotion. Sporting close-cropped hair, thinner, dressed successful a suit, and utilizing restraint successful his words, White inactive offered a sneak peek of his aboriginal bombastic plans.
“We privation to marque this the Super Bowl of mixed martial arts,” White said.
The tract of this seemingly absurd proclamation: Trump Taj Mahal.
A quarter-century later, aft larger fights extracurricular the cage for legitimacy and legalization, UFC is backmost astatine President Donald Trump's location this weekend, though some the promotion and the businessman person agelong since leveled up successful presumption and stature.
Unimaginable that nighttime successful February 2001 successful Atlantic City, UFC is staging seven fights under the Freedom 250 banner Sunday nighttime connected the South Lawn of the White House to observe Trump's 80th birthday and the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence’s signing.
“It’s truly rather shocking and truly puts the UFC successful the spotlight,” said Lavie Margolin, writer of the publication “Ultimate Fighters” that chronicled the White-Trump relationship. “The imaginable negatives of it are, it could beryllium excessively much. Some radical bash construe that it’s excessively overmuch of the MAGA movement. Can I digest this? Thus far, it doesn’t look to person turned disconnected those who are UFC fans.”
It's the pinnacle of the narration between White and Trump that has yielded personal, governmental and fiscal dividends for some parties. White earned the mainstream visibility for himself and the athletics helium craved arsenic helium stumped for Trump astatine GOP conventions, portion the emboldened right-wing “ manosphere ” that soaks up UFC fights threw its enactment down Trump successful the elections.
Against the backdrop of a three-month-old warfare with Iran that’s been broadly unpopular with Americans and has rattled global lipid markets and with inflation spiked to the highest level since April 2023, the White House — agelong known arsenic the people's location and a awesome of American ideology — opened its backyard to big a made-for-television smackdown that has UFC arsenic a tentpole lawsuit connected the planetary sports calendar.
“It's immense for the brand,” the 56-year-old White said. “People are talking astir this happening each implicit the world.”
Not ever successful a affirmative light.
Rain, though, seems similar the much pressing situation to pulling disconnected a palmy combat night. White said the $60 cardinal card will spell connected adjacent “if it snows," and —- overmuch similar his state successful Trump — is dismissive of immoderate professional who accuses the amusement of being excessively garish, excessively expensive, excessively out-of-touch and out-of-place astatine a tract specified arsenic the White House, particularly with the state astatine war.
“I’m successful an planetary business. There’s ever thing atrocious going on,” White said. “If you privation to determination your concern astir each clip thing atrocious goes connected successful the world, you’d ne'er bash business.”
White and Trump person embraced the sports and governmental crossover
Trump and White are aligned culturally, arsenic overmuch arsenic they whitethorn beryllium politically, and their emergence tin beryllium linked successful portion to world TV. Trump's brashness was connected show arsenic a world TV brag connected “ The Apprentice, ” a amusement that propelled him to nationalist prominence pursuing a drawstring of bankruptcies and atrocious concern deals successful the 1990s. White got a lifeline from Spike TV successful the aboriginal 2000s with “ The Ultimate Fighter, " which has go a UFC staple and is wide regarded arsenic 1 indispensable successful the endurance and eventual enlargement of the company.
The aboriginal iteration of unregulated mixed martial arts was decried by the precocious Sen. John McCain arsenic “human cockfighting” and it took until 2016 for New York to go the last authorities to legalize the sport. UFC — past featuring bankable stars specified arsenic Ronda Rousey and Conor McGregor — became little of an eyeroll and much socially tolerable to favorably nexus with much accepted and palmy stick-and-ball leagues.
Trump has attended 4 UFC cards arsenic a sitting president, walking to the cage amid stone euphony and patriotic chants from fans overmuch similar the fighters themselves. White had introduced Trump astatine 2 Republican National Conventions. White besides attended the White House Correspondents’ Association meal successful April that was cut short by a shooting.
White said the incidental did thing to impact his tendency to signifier the paper successful Washington.
“Less than zero,” White said. “What it did bash was decidedly rise the consciousness connected security. The White House is the astir unafraid spot successful America. If anything, the correspondents’ meal helped arsenic acold arsenic information goes. I’m not worried.”
One of the turning points successful the narration came during the COVID pandemic. While different sports unopen down for months earlier resuming successful immoderate benignant of bubble format, UFC pressed connected aft a abbreviated hiatus with fan-free shows successful Florida oregon “Fight Island” successful Abu Dhabi. Trump supported White and taped a connection earlier a May 2020 paper that said successful part: “We emotion it. We deliberation it’s important. Get the sports leagues back. Let’s play."
Is Freedom 250 a governmental statement?
White threw his value down governmental causes successful the past, notably stumping successful 2010 for Nevada Sen. Harry Reid.
A democrat.
White has argued Freedom 250 is not astir politics, though the optics surrounding the event, specified arsenic his sports diplomacy gathering with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, suggest otherwise.
“I deliberation for the astir portion he's really sharing his emotion of Trump,” Margolin said. “I deliberation Trump wants it due to the fact that helium wants the radical to similar him and helium loves the UFC. It is governmental that it's highlighting Trump connected the satellite signifier and his administration. Without going excessively acold implicit a cliff, erstwhile you person cage fighting, it's demonstrating strength, exerting your volition implicit another, the powerfulness implicit idiosyncratic else.”
The combat corners are ever reddish and bluish — for immoderate newcomers watching Sunday connected Paramount+, which is controlled by the Ellison family, besides adjacent allies of Trump. White and his fleet of like-minded fighters howl that combat nighttime has thing to bash with a governmental agenda; that the institution is moving a amusement astatine the White House due to the fact that it was asked to and would successful immoderate condition nary substance the governmental enactment of the president.
“Let's instrumentality my American patriotism retired of it, let's instrumentality my emotion for the state retired of it,” said Michael Chandler, a 40-year-old Missouri autochthonal warring connected the card. "When you get into mixed martial arts, erstwhile you get into immoderate sport, you privation the biggest level arsenic possible, the astir magnitude of viewers, the astir magnitude of eyeballs, the highest stakes, the brightest lights.
“This is the biggest combat successful mixed martial arts. The biggest combat lawsuit successful UFC history.”
English (US)·