Dana White has confirmed that the UFC White House card is finalized, telling iFL TV that a full announcement is coming this week while revealing just how tightly the matchmaking process has been kept under wraps.
“I’ll announce the whole card this week,” White said. “The card’s done.”
White elaborated on the lengths his team has gone to for keeping the lineup secret. “We’ve been so secretive about this. I have all these boards, which I’m sure you’ve seen, hanging in our war room. This isn’t even on the board. We bring in a whiteboard, we write the fights down, then we erase them.”
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He also noted that the matchmaking meetings for the event have been happening at an unusually high frequency. “Every time we have a matchmaking meeting, which usually matchmaking meetings are every Tuesday, they’ve been every day for the last, you know, two and a half weeks.”
When asked whether Conor McGregor would be on the card, White kept it simple: “We’ll see. We’ll see.”
The event is scheduled for June 14, 2026, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., timed to coincide with President Trump’s 80th birthday and Flag Day, as part of a broader celebration marking the 250th anniversary of the United States. Weigh-ins are expected to take place at the Lincoln Memorial. White has said fighters will walk from the Oval Office to the Octagon, and that the UFC plans to take over the nation’s capital for the weekend, with live music planned throughout the day.
The production budget reflects the ambition of the project. The event is projected to cost around $60 million to stage, eclipsing the $21 million spent on UFC 306 at the Sphere in Las Vegas in 2024. TKO president Mark Shapiro has acknowledged the event will not turn a profit, with the organization expecting to recoup roughly half of total costs through sponsors and new commercial partnerships. The card will simulcast on CBS and Paramount+ and is expected to feature six or seven fights.
With the announcement still days away, speculation around the main event has been running at full volume. The fight most widely discussed in recent weeks has been Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje, which had been widely expected to headline the card. Reports have since suggested that the matchup is increasingly unlikely, with concerns that President Trump would not want to see an American fighter knocked out on home soil in such a prominent setting. Topuria pushed back publicly, saying during a live stream that he could still headline the event but had not yet received the call from the UFC.
The picture shifted further when Alex Pereira vacated his light heavyweight title, opening the door for him to move up to heavyweight and potentially feature on the card in a new capacity.
Jon Jones has been among the loudest voices lobbying for a spot on the lineup, having appeared to come out of retirement with the White House event as his target. A matchup between Jones and Pereira would carry considerable weight given where both sit in the sport’s pound-for-pound conversation, though White has previously expressed hesitation about Jones’ involvement, citing a lack of trust. Whether that position has shifted in the weeks since remains to be seen.
McGregor’s inclusion, while uncertain, remains one of the most talked-about possibilities. The Irishman has been publicly campaigning for a place on the card, and if he does make his long-awaited return, Michael Chandler would be the natural opponent. The two were previously linked for years and coached opposite each other on The Ultimate Fighter before their planned bout fell through. Chandler’s profile as an outspoken American would make him a fitting choice for a patriotic occasion of this scale.
Colby Covington has also been discussed as a natural fit given his well-documented relationship with the current administration. His recent move to middleweight opens up a fresh set of potential matchups beyond his usual welterweight circle.
Islam Makhachev, who vacated the lightweight title to move up to welterweight, has also been named in connection with the event, as has Jorge Masvidal, whose own ties to Trump make him a plausible addition. Some reports have floated the possibility of the card featuring as many as six or seven title fights, which would be unprecedented in UFC history and would require a deep lineup of championship-level matchups across multiple weight classes.
What is clear is that the UFC has treated the construction of this card differently from any other event in its history, and that the secrecy White described in the iFL TV interview has been deliberate. He has consistently deflected questions about specific matchups and declined to confirm even the most widely reported bookings, a posture that is unusual even by his own standards.
The announcement, when it comes, will bring one of the most anticipated cards in the promotion’s history into full focus. Whether it delivers the marquee names that the occasion demands will be known shortly.
