Donald Trump’s fascination with the UFC has not been exactly a secret. POTUS has been seen at UFC events quite frequently, including at the recently concluded UFC 316 in New Jersey in June, and he even posed with a belt and gloves for another self-aggrandizing moment.
Now, President Trump has another idea – bring a live UFC fight to the White House front lawn, held in celebration of the nation’s 250th birthday. The 2026 event would see as many as 25,000 people invited and attending, with POTUS fleshing out his idea publicly.
"We’re not going to build a little, we’re not, Dana is going to do it, a UFC fight, a championship fight, a full fight. We’re going to have some incredible events, some professional events, some amateur events. But the UFC fight is going to be a big deal."
Imagining President Trump doing something so controversial is not difficult. Besides, POTUS has a warm rapport with Dana White, the UFC’s current CEO, and the two have been chummy in public before.
The comment about the UFC coming to the White House to celebrate the nation’s founding is not just another fleeting comment. A UFC spokesperson has confirmed that the logistics and details of the event are being discussed, but no official press release from the Ultimate Fighting Championship has come just yet.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House’s Press Secretary, hurried to build the hype on X, a social media platform, and said, "It’s going to be EPIC!"
Speaking of "epic," there are many ways that the event can live up to the hype. Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO and co-founder of Meta, has long been talking about making his debut in the octagon. He has been preparing for his UFC debut for years now and seems determined to try.
In fact, at one point, Zuckerberg wanted to fight Elon Musk, a now ostracized ally of POTUS, but the fight fell through because of Musk’s usual shenanigans – failing to set a date or show any serious commitment to a potential fight between the two.
Of course, not everyone has welcomed the transformation of the White House lawn into an arena. Many on social media have ridiculed the President, drawing comparisons to President Camacho, the fictional, wildly unfit leader from Idiocracy, who governs a nation of low-IQ citizens rendered that way after replacing water with sugary sports drinks.
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