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President Donald Trump on Sunday released new details about the UFC event planned at the White House in 2026 as part of America’s 250th birthday celebration, saying the card will feature “eight or nine championship fights” and a custom-built arena on the South Lawn.
Speaking at the Kennedy Center, President Trump said UFC CEO Dana White will construct a venue to hold roughly 6,000 spectators for what he described as the most ambitious fight night in the sport’s history.
“They’re building an arena, the great Dana White is building an arena,” President Trump told reporters. “They are going to have eight or nine championship fights. It’s the biggest fights they’ve ever had; every fight is a championship fight.”
Trump said UFC is delaying major bouts so they can be held during the America 250 event in June 2026. “He’s actually holding back fights right now for six months, so he can do them on the 250th anniversary,” Trump said.
The president said the temporary arena would sit “five or six thousand seats right in front of the door of the White House.” The event is scheduled for June 14, Flag Day, which also happens to be Trump’s 80th birthday.
“I don’t think there’ll be anything like it,” he said. “It’ll be on Sunday night, June 14, [on] Flag Day. It happens to be my birthday, but I didn’t do it for that reason. ‘Sir, we like the June 14 date.’ I said, ‘Yeah, that’s my birthday.’ They didn’t know it. But they picked it. I’ll take a little heat on that, but it’s not that.”
President Trump announced the planned UFC showcase earlier this year. White, a longtime ally of the president, endorsed him during the 2024 presidential campaign and spoke at the Republican National Convention.
The lineup for the White House fight night has not been revealed, though UFC fans have speculated for months about which champions might headline what Trump has called the biggest UFC event ever staged.
Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung told The Wall Street Journal in October that the event represents “one of the greatest and most historic sports events in history,” adding that hosting it at the White House underscores Trump’s “vision to celebrate America’s monumental 250th anniversary.”