The last time notable combat sports were held at the White House, former President Theodore Roosevelt was hosting boxing matches, including taking up opponents himself. In one bout, he even took a blow to the face that left him partially blind in one eye.
Despite President Donald Trump’s past forays into the world of professional wrestling, he won’t be the one in the ring at the UFC fight scheduled to be held on the White House South Lawn.
But before taking office, Trump had long-running relationships with prominent figures in the world of combat sports. From boxing events at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey, to his friendship with boxing promoter Don King, Trump has long sought to make his mark on sport.
The match at the White House — part of a slate of events to celebrate the United States’ 250th birthday (although not to be confused with the congressionally sanctioned events known as America250) — is scheduled for June 14. The date, coincidentally, is Trump’s 80th birthday.
During a press event in the Oval Office with the fighters earlier this month, Trump (displaying a disregard for well-known trademarks) promised the event will be “the greatest show on Earth.”
“It’s never going to happen again,” Trump said. “Never happened before.”
Renderings from the UFC show a 5,000-seat arena, currently under construction on the South Lawn, that will sit underneath a red, white and blue arch. The White House and the UFC said invited guests and members of the military will sit around the octagonal cage, while screens will be set up at the Ellipse to show the fights to roughly 85,000 fans. Weigh-ins for the fighters are expected to take place at the Lincoln Memorial.
In a recent interview with The New Yorker, UFC CEO and longtime Trump ally Dana White said the president had floated the idea of fights at the White House while attending a recent fight.
“He leans over to me in the middle of the fight and goes, ‘We should do a fight at the White House,’” White said. “I said, ‘Yes. Yes, we should. I’m in. I’m in!’”
Ties to White and UFC
Before White took over the UFC in 2001, mixed martial arts fighting was banned in a majority of states across the country. Speaking in support of Trump at the 2016 Republican National Convention, White said most arenas didn’t want anything to do with hosting UFC events.
But, he said, Trump took a chance on the company and hosted the first and second matches of White’s promotion career at the Trump Taj Mahal.
“Nobody took us seriously,” White said in a speech at the 2016 RNC. “Nobody, except Donald Trump.”
Over the course of their relationship, White has stumped for Trump at rallies, and he appeared again at the RNC during the president’s 2024 campaign, where White called Trump “the toughest, most resilient human being.” On election night in 2024, Trump invited White to speak on stage during the celebration.
Trump did a victory lap at a UFC fight at Madison Square Garden just 11 days after winning the 2024 election. In 2019, Trump made history as the first sitting president to attend a UFC match. Since his first term, Trump has sat cageside at seven UFC matches.