He was invited by Dana White, but Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson won’t be attending UFC’s upcoming event at the White House.
A recent feature story on White published by Time magazine noted that the UFC boss had invited several celebrities, including Johnson, to attend UFC Freedom 250 in Washington, D.C. Vanity Fair followed up by trying to find out if those celebrities would be attending, with a source telling them that Johnson will not be there. It wasn’t stated whether Johnson has a scheduling issue or a different reason for declining the invitation.
“A source close to The Rock tells Vanity Fair that he will not be attending,” Vanity Fair wrote. “Representatives for [Adam] Sandler, [Jared] Leto, and [Mario] Lopez say they won’t be either. Reps for the others did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The White House and UFC did not respond to requests for comment about the guest list.”
Tom Brady, Guy Ritchie, and Jason Statham were the other celebrities White mentioned as being invited to the June 14 show. UFC says there will be approximately 4,300 attendees in the crowd, including at least 1,200 active duty military members.
WWE involvement at UFC Freedom 250 weekend —
Johnson has a seat on the board of directors for TKO Group, the parent company of UFC and WWE. There will be some WWE wrestlers in Washington, D.C. that weekend with Charlotte Flair, The Miz, Trick Williams, Chelsea Green, The Usos, Tiffany Stratton, and Bron Breakker announced for meet and greets at the UFC Freedom 250 fan fest.
The fan fest is taking place at The Ellipse just outside of the White House, while UFC is staging the actual fights on the White House’s South Lawn. Here is the announced main card:
UFC Freedom 250 (Sunday, June 14 on Paramount+) —
Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje for the UFC lightweight championship
Alex Pereira vs. Ciryl Gane for the UFC heavyweight championship
The most detailed look at the sale of New Japan, what happened, the glory days that Bushiroad built and why it came down and what led to the sale.
Business realities of Japanese wrestling today.
The reason for the surprising low sale price.
The shareholders lawsuit against Vince McMahon and the WWE Board of Directors is getting near. Judge Travis Laster orders sanctions against Nick Khan and Vince McMahon for destruction of evidence. Laster makes a ruling, and we look at it in detail, on how this changes the trial and the exact details of the destruction of evidence including when McMahon and company knew not to do it and ignored their own lawyers. Also we look at problems with the case.
AEW Double of Nothing coverage. Business notes, historical biggest gates in U.S. pro wrestling, three-time world champions by 30, how the PPV did, poll results, Mick Foley and more.
Did Ronda Rousey set a viewing audience record for MMA, plus coverage of Rousey vs. Carano, how everything goes forward, can things be sustained, can she fight, will she fight, her thoughts on AEW.
Scott Coker returns to MMA with a new promotion.
Marcel Barthel (Ludwig Kaiser) arrested.
A look at the career of Jerry Grey.
The most detailed look at the ratings for all the TV shows over the past two weeks.
Mistico injury update.
How CMLL is doing this year compared to last year.
Natalia Jiminez and J Balvin appear and are part of CMLL shows.
Wrestlers vs. media soccer game.
Grande vs. Grande match looked at.
Major return to Stardom.
Champion Carnival finals.
NOAH tag team tournament.
New Japan Best of the Super Juniors tournament.
Hana Kimura tribute show.
Phil Hickerson passes away.
WCW announcer is the final anchor as CBS News Radio closes its doors after 99 years.
Death of the Laguna version of Piloto Suicida.
Junior Hodge Trophy winner.
Advance ticket sales for all major events in AEW, WWE, TNA and other indies.
Pro wrestler/fighter on the Rousey-Carano undercard.
WWE stars purchase promotion.
Tony Khan media appearances.
More thoughts on how Paramount/Skydance can affect AEW.
What can affect the time slot of Collision in 2027.
— Garrett Gonzales and I have our week in review talking about the current issue of the Observer and latest news show being taped today. My weekend show with Bryan will be Sunday after Clash in Italy.
— Judge Travis Laster, who is in charge of the shareholders lawsuit against WWE, ruled in favor of reporter Brandon Thurston’s challenge regarding documents WWE was attempting to keep sealed. Thurston challenged WWE’s attempt to keep evidence confidential and not to be reported on, including a voicemail message from Ari Emanuel to Vince McMahon. There were key deposition questions regarding discussion of the Wall Street Journal’s sources regarding sexual misconduct claims.
WWE lawyers argued according to Post Wrestling, which Thurston writes for, that the information could have unfavorable or reputational consequences such as weakened negotiating position or public embarrassment. They also argued it could create damages to professional relationships within and outside WWE, harm to an individual identified and would erode confidence among stakeholders. Laster ruled those arguments were not sufficient and the information must be revealed stating that the defendants’ harm was outweighed by the public interest in the information. The conversation Thurston was trying to get access to was part of the one where Emanuel had claimed he could go to lawyers he knows and help get the criminal investigation against McMahon regarding sex trafficking to go away.
— Tonight on USA will have the SmackDown taped this afternoon from 8-11 p.m., WWE: Made in America, a documentary at 11 p.m. and the first episode of Braun Strowman’s Everything on the Menu at midnight.
— The Huffington Post reported that Donald Trump has purchased between $15,001 and $50,000 stock in TKO Holdings. He made the purchase on 3/26. This leads to major conflict of interest claims given his having the show at the White House.
— The Washington Post reported that the Pentagon is recruiting hundreds of troops to appear as spectators at the UFC show at the White House on 6/14. However, those who attend are required to pay their own way and have to meet height and weight requirements to attend. Those attending must meet acceptable waist-height ratios and be physically fit, and are required to wear short-sleeve dress uniforms. Neither UFC nor the defense department will cover arrangements or accommodations. In fact, this event is the U.S. equivalent to Collision in Korea, except it won’t draw as much, and has far less star power.
— We’re looking for your thoughts on Sunday’s Clash in Italy. You can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]
— Arena Mexico tonight has changed its main event. The Copa Juniors finals is now Villano III Jr. vs. Zandokan Jr., who finished third in last week’s elimination match. Atlantis Jr., who was to face Villano III Jr. in the finals, blew out his knee on Sunday. At first he was advertised for the show but he was later in the week pulled from the show. They still sold out yesterday. The rest of the show has Mascara Dorada & Volador Jr. vs. Esfinge & Averno, Los Calaveras Jr. I & II & Soberano Jr. vs. Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja & Cobarde, El Hijo de Blue Panther vs. El Hijo del Villano III, Tessa Blanchard & Skadi vs. Olympia & Sanely and Oro Jr. & Pantera Jr. & Pendulo (who is like a second cousin of Eddy Guerrero) vs. Estudiante Jr. & Robin & Sangre Infernal.
— Villano III Jr. said that if he wins the Copa tonight, he would like to put it at stake against Atlantis Jr., when he’s healthy.
— Salvador Lutteroth was at Double or Nothing on Sunday.
— The first CMLL Wednesday night show at Arena Mexico (they’ll be running almost every Wednesday in June and July) starts this week. No word on if it will be streamed live, nor do we have a lineup.
— Mistico has said that he hopes to be back by next Friday’s show. He had a huge knee brace on when talking on Informa Wednesday night. He said he has not been cleared. It was also noted on the show that he has dates scheduled for AEW & New Japan. We knew he’d be in AEW soon and I suspect something big for August, if not June. He’s part of the junior tag champions in New Japan so he’d have to be back there soon. He had been advertised to appear signing autographs last night in Pachuca, and he had been making his dates and doing signings. However, the promotion announced just before show time that every effort was made with them and CMLL, but due to the severity of the injury, he would not be appearing. He said he would appear in Pachuca as soon as he can to make up for this.
— On AEW Spanish language commentary, Carlos Cabrera said Grand Slam Mexico would be in August, which confirms that we had been told it would be after the end of July but before school starts. AEW has tapings already announced 8/12 and 8/26, leaving 8/5 and 8/19 open. I suspect the announcement will come relatively soon.
— AAA Noche de los Grandes on YouTube from Arena Monterrey tomorrow night at 10 p.m. Eastern:
Grande Americano vs. Grande Americano mask vs. mask
Pagano & Psycho Clown vs. War Raiders for AAA tag titles
El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. vs. El Hijo del Vikingo for the Latin American title
Laredo Kid vs. Rey Fenix for the cruiserweight title
Lola Vice & Catalina & Bayley vs. Flammer & Maravilla & La Hiedra (this will be taped for 6/6)
The show is scheduled for 90 minutes.
— Two corrections from the current issue. Regarding the advance for the 6/11 MLW show at the Melrose Ballroom in New York, we listed it as sold out. It is not sold out. They can get 912 in the building. Also, we said Fabian Aichner told Jon Alba that he had a TNA contract into the summer. Alba, who did talk with Aichner, said he got the contract info from another source.
— The Best of the Super Juniors continues later tonight at 2 a.m. Eastern time from Takaoka. The tournament matches are Jakob Austin Young vs. Hyo, Yoh vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Robbie Eagles vs. Daisuke Sasaki, Kushida vs. El Desperado and Sho vs. Taiji Ishimori.
— Today’s results from Tsubame for B block matches:
Hyo (6) b Yoshinobu Kanemaru (6)
Master Wato (10) b Daiki Nagai (0)
Robbie X (8) b Ryusuke Taguchi
Nick Wayne (8) b Titan (10)
Kosei Fujita (8) b Valiente Jr. (4)
— UFC is in Macau for a show that starts late tonight at 4 a.m. Eastern:
Loma Lookboonmee (115) vs. Jacqueline Amorim (115.5)
Zhu Kangjie (145) vs. Rodrigo Vera (145)
Angela Hill (115) vs. Xiong Jing Nan (115.5)
Rei Tsuruya (135) vs. Luis Gurule (135)
Aoriqileng (135) vs. Cody Haddon (135)
Ding Meng (170.5) vs. Jose Souza (170.5)
Yi Zha (185) vs. Luis Felipe Dias (184.5)
Alex Perez (125.5) vs. Sumudaerji (126)
Jake Matthews (170) vs. Carlston Harris (170.5)
Kai Asakura (135.5) vs. Cameron Smotherman (135.5)
Sergei Pavlovich (257) vs. Tallison Teixeira (250)
Zhang Mingyang (205) vs. Alonzo Menifield (206)
Song Yadong (136) vs. Deiveson Figueiredo (135.5)
— Eddie Hearn has asked Dana White to release Tom Aspinall from his contract, saying that he will pay Aspinall a minimum of three times what he’s getting in UFC, and that White should be happy for a working class man to be able to earn so much more money.
— TNA has announced for 6/28 Slammiversary in Boston (this will be an afternoon show to avoid AEW) that Mike Santana defends the TNA title against Eddie Edwards, Cedric Alexander, Leon Slater and others in an Ultimate X match, Lei Ying Lee defends the Knockouts title against Xia Brookside and there will be a ladder match on the show.
— Thursday’s TNA TV has The Hardys vs. The Righteous in a Wicked Garden match, Santino Marella & Indi Hartwell vs. Stacks Lorenzo & Arianna Grace and Edwards vs. BDE.
— Ricky Sosa vs. Amazing Red takes place for House of Glory Wrestling on 6/19 at the Logan Square Auditorium in Chicago.
— Zuffa Boxing announced a 7/26 show at the Infosys Theater in Madison Square Garden.
— A two-hour episode of MLW Fusion will air tomorrow at 6:05 p.m. on YouTube, 9 p.m. on Veeps and 10 p.m. on beIN Sports. This was the show taped in Orlando with Trevor Lee vs. Austin Aries, Alex Hammerstone vs. Bishop Dyer, Shotzi Blackheart vs. Priscilla Kelly, Scarlett Bordeaux vs. Aleah James and more.
— Among today’s birthdays are Samu Anoa’i turning 63, Pete Gas turning 56, Steve Corino turning 53, Brian Kendrick turning 47, Nia Jax turning 42, Hornswoggle turning 40, Josh Alexander turning 39 and Konosuke Takeshita turning 31. Man Mountain Dean, a major drawing card in the 1930s, died 73 years ago today at 61. Tarzan Goto died four years ago today at 58. (thanks to Tony Richards)
— Metro in the U.K. had an interview with TNA announcer Tom Hannifan today. He said that when he announced the Kofi Kingston WWE title win over Bryan Danielson, he did not know Kingston was going to win the title. He also said that Michael Cole and Lance Storm have been huge helps to his career. (thanks to Matt Barker)
On social media today, Chelsea Green responded to the backlash she’s received over being included in UFC’s Freedom 250 Fan Fest.
It was announced on Monday that several WWE names will have meet and greets at the fan fest, which is happening in Washington, D.C. during the weekend of UFC’s White House event. Green is among those set to appear, and she’s received criticism from fans given that the political stances she’s publicly taken do not align with those of the current administration.
One fan on X accused Green of prioritizing money over her support of trans rights. In response, Green framed this appearance as a job obligation and said she will continue to advocate for the causes she cares about.
“Doing my job and supporting the community are not mutually exclusive,” Green, who is originally from Canada, wrote. “I’ll continue to do what I can to advocate for human rights whether you approve or not. [heart emoji]”
Green is one of the wrestlers that WWE most frequently uses for public and media appearances like this. Last year, she received similar backlash from fans for speaking positively about Hulk Hogan on the day of his death and not addressing the racism controversy that Hogan was involved in. That situation led to Green taking a social media break due to name calling and death threats.
WWE wrestlers at UFC Freedom 250 Fan Fest —
Green, Charlotte Flair, The Miz, Trick Williams, The Usos, Tiffany Stratton, and Bron Breakker are the WWE wrestlers announced to appear at this event. It’s taking place from June 13-14, and having WWE stars present during the weekend is seemingly aimed at maximizing public interest given how significant this is to WWE & UFC parent company TKO. UFC is hyping its fight card as being the “most historic sporting event of all time.”
The fan fest will take place at The Ellipse just outside of the White House, with the June 14 fights set to be held on the White House’s South Lawn. At the fan fest, there will be a ceremonial weigh-in, live shows with UFC fighters, celebrity appearances, and live music including a concert by Zac Brown Band.
Doing my job and supporting the community are not mutually exclusive. I’ll continue to do what I can to advocate for human rights whether you approve or not. 💟
Several WWE names have been confirmed for the fan fest that’s being held during UFC’s Freedom 250 weekend.
It was announced on Monday that meet and greets with WWE stars would be part of the June 13-14 fan fest that’s taking place in Washington, D.C. during the weekend of UFC’s White House card. No specific names were mentioned in the initial announcement, but WWE confirmed on Raw last night those taking part will include Charlotte Flair, The Miz, Trick Williams, Chelsea Green, The Usos, Tiffany Stratton, and Bron Breakker.
“Hey folks, get ready for two unforgettable days of non-stop action at the UFC Freedom 250 Fan Fest,” Michael Cole said. “Don’t miss immersive fan experiences, live shows featuring UFC athletes, celebrity appearances, exclusive on-stage music, and more. Plus, meet and greets with your favorite WWE Superstars including Charlotte Flair, The Miz, Trick Williams, Chelsea Green, The Usos, Tiffany Stratton, and Bron Breakker.”
The fan fest is being held at The Ellipse, a park located just outside of the White House. Tickets to the fan event are free, but attendees must request them and then enter a random draw that will determine who gets tickets.
WWE and UFC are sister companies under the TKO Group umbrella. This White House event is a significant moment for TKO, with UFC hyping it as the “most historic sporting event of all time.” It’s happening as part of the United States’ 250th birthday celebration. The actual fights will be held on the South Lawn at the White House.
UFC Freedom 250 (Sunday, June 14 on Paramount+) —
Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje for the UFC lightweight championship
Alex Pereira vs. Ciryl Gane for the UFC heavyweight championship
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including tons of notes on the new AEW streaming service, Double or Nothing ticket sales, Orton vs. Cody and the WrestleMania build, Vengeance Day recap, New Japan Cup and CMLL notes, tons of MMA news including the UFC White House card, the RAW report for the show Bryan attended live, and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps: Start: MyAEW streaming service to launch outside US & Canada, Double or Nothing early tickets sales 13:19: WWE Wrestlemania 42 plans keep changing, NXT Vengeance Day recap 28:45: NJPW Cup update, CMLL notes 35:38: Ratings notes, boxing & MMA notes on ESPN/MVPW, UFC White House card reactions 56:01: WWE Raw recap
More on the Paramount purchase of WBD and details of when it goes through, if it goes through and details on how it helps or hurts UFC, AEW and Zuffa Boxing as well as a cost efficiency look at the three properties for 2027 if plans go through as stated.
The road to WrestleMania and why Paul Levesque is in a position where it’s impossible for him to do the job people want and impossible for him to fail, business notes on the show, and a look at the Elimination Chamber show, how it did on Netflix, the good and the bad.
Preview and updates on AEW Revolution and interest level
Odds on upcoming wrestling matches
Coverage of the New Japan New Beginning USA show in Trenton with two title changes
A look at the Demolition tag team as they go into the WWE Hall of Fame
The most detailed look at the ratings of all the pro wrestling TV shows, including demos, competition and comparisons with last year.
Johnny TV in the most heated match so far this year with Angel de Oro
Why AAA television is so entertaining
Stardom Cinderella tournament notes
Brothers face off in NOAH jr. tag tournament final
New Japan Cup first two days
Final night of Fantastica Mania notes
Jeff Jarrett documentary
Wrestler out of prison starts working on indices this week
Real American Freestyle angle
Update of the robbery of the Canadian promotion and the Davey Boy Smith Jr. Hall of Fame ring
John Laurinaitis wants back in to wrestling
16 Carat Gold weekend in Germany
Pro Wrestling Eve has biggest show of its history this week
Brodie Lee Jr. first singles match date
Steph De Lander talks why she and Mance Warner quit TNA
Notes on David Finlay signing with AEW
ROH first TV tapings in a studio
UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight title updates
Lots of new UFC fights
Updates on WWE front office news and changes
The story behind leaking fast nationals
WWE accused of deleting key information in a lawsuit
More notes on the WWE deal with Endeavor and how it went down
Janel Grant speaks in favor of changing Connecticut law on NDAs
Bianca Belair update
WWE sends out unchecked email to network subscribers causing a panic
— Bryan and I will be back tonight talking about a ton of news including the White House show and how we got there, WWE court cases updates, WrestleMania, AEW’s new service, Jon Jones, NXT Vengeance Day, Raw and a lot more.
— Francis Ngannou vs. Philipe Lins, a 40-year-old former UFC light heavyweight, has been added to the 5/16 Gina Carano vs. Ronda Rousey Netflix show that MVP Promotions is putting on. Rousey, in promoting the fight, said on X, “That what happens when you put fighters and fans ahead of shareholders. PS. UFC”S White House card sucks!” There will be a press conference for this show tomorrow at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles and tickets go on sale Tuesday. Ticket sales will be interesting. I expect the show to do very good numbers on Netflix, but I’m not as certain about live ticket sales if they are charging high prices. Nobody has drawn a big house for MMA in this country except for UFC probably dating back to the Strikeforce heyday in San Jose.
— After Dana White said that Jon Jones was never in the plans for the White House card, and he said he told Jones lawyer some time back when Jones wanted on the show that it was never going to happen, ever, Jones claims he was in talks as late as Friday. He said they were in real talks and real negotiations and said he came down from his original number, but was lowballed. Stories out indicate Jones wanted $25 million and UFC offered $15 million. He said he got stem cell treatment last week to get ready to train. He said if UFC thinks he’s done, then please give him his release. Right now with the nature of Netflix and MVP Promotions, Jones probably could make more with a fight with Francis Ngannou than any fight in UFC now. So I don’t know if the UFC would be willing to release him for that.
— The new AEW service looks to me as something they are setting up as a replacement for Triller, which has major financial issues. This has nothing to do with the U.S. television situation and this service is not even available in the U.S., because the contract with WBD would not allow it to be.
— Raw tonight is from Seattle with a Gauntlet match for a women’s IC title shot with Bayley, Lyra Valkyria, Asuka, Iyo Sky and Raquel Rodriguez, Oba Femi vs. Rusev and Penta vs. Grande Americano Gable. Neither Roman Reigns nor Brock Lesnar are scheduled, but both will be regulars on Raw starting next week in San Antonio. They had 8,755 tickets out as of earlier today, so again a good crowd but far from a sellout.
— Wrestletix lists AEW Double or Nothing for Louie Armstrong Stadium as having moved 6,545 tickets so far.
— TNA Impact on Thursday did 249,000 viewers and an 0.04 in 18-49. It was the second best viewer number, tied for fourth best 18-49 number since they started on AMC. This was a live show from Atlanta.
— NXT tomorrow has Joe Hendry & Myles Borne vs. Ricky Starks & Ethan Page, Lainey Reid vs. Sol Ruca, Wren Sinclair vs. Thea Hail, winner faces Speed champion Fallon Henley next week, Tavion Heights & Charlie Dempsey vs. Lexis King & Uriah Connors and Jasper Troy vs. Eli Knight vs. Sean Legacy.
— Eddie Hearn, as a guest on Ariel Helwani’s show, in his feud with Dana White said that he’d knock White out in three rounds or less if they boxed and said that when White does interviews with UK outlets, that the reporters are told ahead of time what they are allowed to ask and that UFC asks to see the interview before it can go out.
— Chelsea Green was on the Bellas podcast and said Michael Hayes has apologized to her over what he said months ago on WWE Unreal.
— Raven posted a photo of himself with Rosemary and The Bunny (who also returns to TNA meaning she was not given an AEW contract renewal) as a preview for the already shot show on Thursday.
— CMLL, with no advance warning, streamed last night’s Arena Mexico show featuring the return of Mascara Dorada. Dorada & Templario & Neon beat Angel de Oro & Hechicero & Barbaro Cavernario in the main event. Tomorrow night’s show at Arena Mexico which does stream live has Dorada & Templario vs. Difunto & Hechicero, Neon vs. Flip Gordon and Corbade & El Hijo de Stuka Jr. & Felino Jr. face Blue Panther Jr. & Dark Panther & El Hijo de Blue Panther for the Mexican national trios tites. Blue Panther vs. Stuka Jr. and Atlantis Jr. & Titan & Xelhua vs Angel de Oro & El Hijo del Villano III & Soberano Jr. will headline in Guadalajara tomorrow.
— Claudio Castagnoli vs. Ultimo Guerrero for the CMLL heavyweight title in a rematch will be on Friday’s Arena Mexico show. Their first match was good, nothing compared to Castagnoli’s big AEW singles bouts though.
— The New Japan Cup continues in Okayama at 4:30 a.m. Eastern tomorrow morning has Shingo Takagi vs. Don Fale and Drilla Moloney vs. Yuya Uemura.
— Norvell Austin turns 75 today. Nikita Koloff turns 67. Rick Steiner turns 65. Tiger Ali Singh turns 55. Melina Perez turns 47. Aubrey Edwards turns 39. Eddie Creachman, the manager of The Sheik, was 66 when he passed away 32 years ago today. Wally Yamaguchi (Yamaguchi-san in WWF) was 60 when he passed away seven years ago today. (thanks to Tony Richards)
The full card for the much-discussed UFC Freedom 250 card at the White House this June has finally been revealed and will continue to be discussed after the announcement.
Announced during Saturday’s UFC 326 broadcast, the Sunday, June 14, 2026, event will feature two title fights with one of them featuring Alex Pereira gunning for his unprecedented third UFC title in three divisions.
The main event will feature UFC lightweight champion and one of their top stars in Ilia Topuria defending against interim champion Justin Gaethje.
In the co-main event, former middleweight and light heavyweight champion Pereira facing Cyril Gane for the interim heavyweight title and not Jon Jones as many had speculated. On Saturday night, news broke that a fight fell off the show with speculation now shifting to that which is unconfirmed as of this writing.
Former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley will take on Aiemann Zahabi while former Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler will fight Mauricio Ruffy.
The six-fight show is rounded out by Bo Nickal vs. Kyle Daukaus, and Diego Lopes vs. Steve Garcia.
The show will feature no female fights, no Jones, and no Gable Steveson as some has speculated as the impetus to sign him to a UFC deal. The initial response on social media was less than enthusiastic.
Dave Meltzer and Garrett Gonzales are back on Wrestling Observer Radio discussing the major stories from today’s issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
A date for the upcoming UFC event at the White House has seemingly been set.
During remarks at a speech on Sunday, President Trump said that the fights would take place on June 14, which happens to be his birthday. UFC has not yet confirmed the date.
“And on June 14, next year, we’re going to have a big UFC fight at the White House, on the grounds of the White House,” he said.
President Trump has frequently brought up the idea of a UFC event at the White House as part of America 250 celebrations taking place next year. Dana White confirmed the event was taking place back in August. Both Jon Jones and Conor McGregor have expressed interest in the event, though Dana White has said that the card has yet to be decided.
Both UFC and WWE officials have enjoyed a relationship with President Trump during his second term. White has been seen frequently with the president, appearing during his victory speech upon being re-elected last year. Trump has also been spotted at a few UFC events since returning to office.
At the end of an Instagram story Thursday (seen below), UFC president Dana White said he had both a long and good day and was about to take off from Washington, DC.
“The White House fight is on. I will have more details on that in the next few weeks, but we got it done today,” he said.
News broke earlier this year that U.S. president Donald Trump wanted a UFC event at the White House, but the idea was initially scoffed at by critics as to whether that was even possible given the logistics.
The event will take place on Saturday, July 4th and will air on Paramount+ (and very possibly CBS) as part of their new seven-year deal that begins in 2026.
Trump and White (seen above) are close friends with White crediting the two-time president with helping the UFC in its early tenure as he hosted events from his venues at a time when the sport was reviled by the mainstream. White has spoken at the Republican National Convention while Trump has been a regular at major UFC events over the past few years.
🚨 Dana White says the UFC White House event is officially on 👀
"White House fight is ON. I will have more details on that in the next couple weeks. We got it done today."
