UFC Sets White House Fight Card Despite Expected Loss

More than eight months after it was first discussed publicly, with plenty of twists and turns since then, UFC’s fight card at the White House is now formally set. 

The mixed-martial arts promotion unveiled the lineup for the UFC Freedom 250 event that will be held on the grounds of the White House—marking the first major sporting competition to be held there. The event will be held on June 14, the 80th birthday of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has maintained a close tie with UFC, and particularly its president, Dana White. That date is also less than three weeks before the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence. 

Headlining the card will be a lightweight title unification bout between Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje. Topuria, generally recognized as one of MMA’s top pound-for-pound fighters, has been on an extended break while resolving a contentious divorce—something that resulted in an out-of-court settlement last month. The Topuria-Gaethje fight had been in doubt in recent days, and another bout fell out of the plans. 

“There’s crazy shit with making every card in this business. This is a very hard business to be in and run,” White said. “It’s like a soap opera here every day. But this was a fun one [to put together].” 

White, however, dismissed prior rumors of Jon Jones or Conor McGregor being involved in UFC Freedom 250.

“The Jon Jones thing is bullshit,” White said. “I’m not saying they weren’t talking to Jon Jones and that Jon Jones wasn’t interested in the fight. What was even crazier was Jon Jones came out and was like, ‘I’m in negotiations right now for the White House card,’ after I had already sent a text to his lawyer saying, ‘Never going to happen ever.’”

Money Matters

UFC parent company TKO Group Holdings Inc. said the event will cost at least $60 million to stage, and will likely post financial losses of about half that figure. The spectacle of staging a fight card at an American landmark, however, remains far too much to pass up—even with a guaranteed loss.

“We see this once-in-a-lifetime stage as a strategic investment to drive subscriber acquisition at Paramount+, massive audience sampling for the UFC overall, and Super Bowl-like earned media across the globe,” TKO president and COO Mark Shapiro said in a recent earnings call. 

Media Distribution

There has been steady discussion about showing part of the UFC Freedom 250 on linear television on CBS. UFC announced the event as an exclusive on the Paramount+ streaming service, but White said late Saturday that “we’ll get into all of that” in the coming months and that full distribution plans have not been finalized.

Now boasting 79 million subscribers, Paramount+ was a featured part of the company’s recent earnings report. If Paramount is able to close its $110 billion merger with TNT Sports parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, it intends to merge Paramount+ with HBO Max.