Dana White Confirms UFC Event at the White House
UFC CEO Dana White has announced that a UFC event at the White House on July 4th is “absolutely certain.” White is scheduled to travel to Washington later this month to meet with President Donald Trump and his daughter, Ivanka, and discuss logistical details. President Trump had expressed his desire to host a UFC fight on the grounds of the White House, with an attendance of up to 20,000 spectators, to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the independence of the United States. “It’s going to happen,” White declared. “Imagine this: the 250th anniversary of the United States, and UFC on the South Lawn of the White House, live on CBS.” This vision of fights in the White House would have been unthinkable when the Fertitta brothers acquired UFC for $2 million in 2001, putting White at the head of the promotion. White led the company to a $4 billion sale in 2016, in addition to broadcast deals with Fox and ESPN, before securing TKO Group’s most lucrative deal, a seven-year contract with Paramount that will begin in 2026, valued at an average of $1.1 billion annually. This agreement includes all U.S. fight cards on the Paramount+ streaming platform and select numbered events that will also be broadcast on CBS.“We have the NFL, the NBA, UFC, and global soccer,” White said. “We’re going for everything.”
Dana WhiteParamount plans to explore UFC rights outside the United States “as they become available in the future”. The UFC fight organizers met this week to plan what White described as a packed debut card for Paramount. The UFC boss noted that it is still early to discuss the main event of the fight night at the White House.As the company enters the Paramount era, there are still aspects to be defined regarding UFC broadcasts and other television programs. White mentioned that new homes are being sought for “The Ultimate Fighter”, “Road To UFC”, and “Dana White’s Contender Series”. It is also not defined whether the traditional 10 p.m. time slot for pay-per-view events will be maintained, especially on nights when the cards will also be broadcast on CBS. “We haven’t figured it out yet, but we will,” White said. Regarding the sometimes controversial topic of fighter compensation:“This is a unique event,” White stated.
Dana WhiteBoxer Jake Paul wrote on social media that the elimination of the pay-per-view model should give fighters a clearer idea of their value.White gave importance to the idea that the traditional pay-per-view model has come to an end. There are still UFC pay-per-view billboards for the rest of the year, until the contract with ESPN ends. White and Saudi Arabia have partnered to launch a new boxing company that will begin next year and could use the pay-per-view model.“It will affect the fighters’ pay, and a lot,” White said. “The fighters’ pay has grown, too, according to the agreements. Every time we win, everyone wins.”
Dana White“It definitely hasn’t come to an end,” White said. “There were people interested in pay-per-view and people who weren’t. Wherever we end up, we’ll keep going with that.”
Dana White
