Dana White announces UFC event at the White House in 2026

(AFP) Dana White, patron of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and close friend to President Donald Trump announced Tuesday the celebration of a mixed martial arts evening at the White House on July 4, 2026, the 250th anniversary of the United States.

In an interview with the CBS network, White was asked about his plans for this event and replied, "It's going to be held, that's for sure."

"I talked to him last night, I mean the president. I'm going to visit him at the end of the month. We'll sit down together so I'll reveal to him our plans, we'll see what he wants, but yes, it's going to be held," said the president of the UFC, the premier mixed martial arts (MMA) league.

"When he called me and asked me to organize it, he said, 'I want Ivanka Trump to participate.' So Ivanka contacted me and we started discussing the different possibilities," he said of the president's daughter.

In this way, the MMA evening would be part of the program of celebrations for the 250th anniversary of the declaration of independence of the United States, which began last July 4 and will last for a year.

The American public figure Dana White has taken on a new dimension since the second election of his friend Donald Trump as president of this country, who invited him, for example, to the stage during his victory speech on November 6, 2024.

Trump is a regular presence at UFC evenings.

White was put at the helm of the UFC in 2001, then a small, loss-making organization, to turn it into a fight promotion powerhouse that has branched out into boxing.

On Monday, the organization announced a $7.7 billion, seven-year broadcast deal with CBS and Paramount.