The UFC is about to pull off something the sport has never seen: fights on the South Lawn of the White House. The card is about wrapped up, with June 14, 2026, circled as the date when MMA lands on Pennsylvania Avenue. The promotion has tied this to America’s 250th birthday, Flag Day, and Donald Trump’s 80th. It’s the kind of alignment that makes headlines beyond fighting circles.
Getting an event like this to happen meant months of wrangling, with UFC president Dana White and TKO chief Ari Emanuel securing the green light directly from the White House.
Dana White: “We got the White House card done last week.”
WATCH:
🚨Dana White says the UFC White House card is ‘done’
— Dovy🔌 (@DovySimuMMA) February 16, 2026
“We got the White House card done last week”
via @ufc pic.twitter.com/3EtvJCrdHG
Security is through the roof, and only a few thousand guests will have seats by the cage, everyone from politicians to entertainers, plus the odd contest-winning fan. Out on the Ellipse, up to 85,000 people are expected to join the UFC festival, watching fights on giant screens while bands play and food trucks do brisk business.
The main event and the rest of the main card go live on Paramount+, while the prelims are set for CBS. With this being the first card under the new $7.7 billion rights deal, it’s clear the UFC is betting big on visibility instead of the old pay-per-view model.
The fight lineup is nearly locked. Insiders say there will be roughly six or seven bouts, with the focus clearly on global star power. The biggest noise by far surrounds Conor McGregor. He’s not only floating a return, but he’s tying it to a fresh contract, using his leverage just as the UFC moves into a new media era.
There’s also talk of Ilia Topuria defending his belt against Justin Gaethje, or maybe jumping up a weight class to meet Islam Makhachev in a champion-versus-champion showdown. With Makhachev’s dominance and international profile, that matchup would get both fight fans and casuals to tune in. If Nate Diaz is ready, the UFC brass wants the McGregor trilogy on this card. That would check every box for spectacle.
Alex Pereira, the current light heavyweight king, is out. He nixed White House offers weeks ago and won’t be part of the festivities.
Even the weigh-ins are getting the full historical treatment, with fighters tipped to step on the scales at the Lincoln Memorial, juicing up the symbolism before anybody throws a punch.
Behind all the main event talk is a planning effort that puts previous UFC events in the shade. The White House card means working with security on a level the UFC hasn’t faced before, plus wrangling the tech and broadcast teams to make sure nothing goes wrong when the world is watching.
For the UFC, June 14 represents more than marquee matchups and celebrity cameos, it’s MMA planted directly in the middle of the American conversation. The whole sport will be on display at the White House, with history and combat sports colliding against a uniquely American backdrop. Whether you’re cage-side or out by the Ellipse, June 14 is set to be one for the books.
