Dana White has confirmed that the UFC are planning a massive event on the grounds of the White House in 2026 to celebrate the 250th birthday of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
“We will absolutely, positively put on the baddest card of all time,” White vowed on the Full Send podcast. “This is going to be like an exceptional pay-per-view card.”
Speculation is already growing as to who might appear on the card, but while White admits that the event is now the most sought after show among UFC fighters, no decisions have been made as yet.
“Everybody wants to fight on this card,” White told the Full Send podcast. “Everybody!“
“Here’s the thing, we’re still a year away. The whole UFC landscape will change over the next year. We’ll see where we’re at.“
With that being said, White appeared to confirm that Jon Jones recent decision to shelf his retirement plans and return to the drug-testing pool could be due to his hopes of making history by fighting at The White House.
“He jumped back in the pool,” White confirmed regarding Jones.
“No matter who popped up or who didn’t, we would put on an incredible card. But the fact that literally everybody wants to fight on this card makes it a lot more fun.”
And White did go on to acknowledge that Jones vs. the man whose just taken his vacated title, Tom Aspinall would be a fitting fight to front the show.
“The dream main event right now would be [Tom] Aspinall vs. Jones…” White said.
Conor McGregor has also made it known that he’d be interested in fighting at The White House, and White didn’t rule out the possibility that both he and Jon Jones may end up competing on the same show, simply stating, “could be,” when asked about it.
While the fight card for the event is far from decided at this stage, White also revealed that his team are already working on the major logistical challenges that would need to be overcome to put on a one-of-a-kind event like this next year, and expect to run their initial plan past President Trump soon.
“My team already went and walked the White House. We’re putting together, sort of, the layout for it right now and probably going to pitch it to him in the next week or two.
“The day that he said he wanted to do it, he put Ivanka [Trump] in charge. I worked with Ivanka and my team and got to where we are now. Now we’ve got to pitch the whole thing to him…
“He loves the sport, so he wants to do a UFC event there. So, why would we say no to that?”
White did admit however that there’s likely to be some major obstacles that they need to overcome, particularly given the obvious security concerns.
“[The event brings] tons of challenges. First of all, I don’t even know how many people can get in. Not to mention the fact [that] Secret Service isn’t going to let a lot of people come to this. Everybody’s going to have background checks.
“Whoever gets to be there live, it will be such a unique, amazing experience in their lifetime to be able to go to this fight.”
Last year’s unique and critically acclaimed ‘Noche UFC’ show at The Sphere in Las Vegas seemed like the promotion’s most audacious event ever, but White is still continuing to try to raise the bar, and expects the White House event to be another landmark moment in the history of the UFC.
“For us, when you think about when the fight is going on, when the fight’s happening and we’re filming, one whole side of the backdrop will be the White House, and then the other side will be the Washington Monument.
“It’s so unique, so badass, and so ‘once ever’.”
