The UFC have an unlikely new destination lined up for next year, as it’s been officially announced that they are set to put on a title fight on the grounds of The White House in Washington D.C in 2026.
That’s the word according to President Trump himself, who announced that the fight will be part of his plans to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in the United States.
“Does anybody watch UFC?” Trump said to his supporters during a rally in Iowa. “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 the bromance between Trump and White goes back a long way, and the president has attended numerous UFC events in recent times, and even welcomed Conor McGregor to the White House earlier this year, while White has supported both his presidential campaigns.
The fact that a sporting organization like the UFC has leaned so heavily into politics hasn’t sat well with all fans though, particularly those who point to the fact that even White himself had spoken out against doing so just a few years ago.
“‘One of the thing that I’ve really tried to do through this whole thing is stay out of politics,” White had said early in Trump’s first presidency back in 2021. “When people tune in to watch sports, they don’t want to hear that crap. They don’t want to hear what your opinions are or who you’re voting for, what you’re doing, they want to get away from everything in their life and they want to focus on two, three, four hours, however long the sport is when you turned it on.“
