The White House will host its first-ever Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event next year as part of 4 July celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of the United States’ founding, UFC president Dana White has confirmed.
White, a long-time friend of President Donald Trump, told CBS Mornings the event was “definitely going to happen” and would be finalised after meetings with Trump and Ivanka Trump later this month. A White House official confirmed the plans to the BBC.
The venue layout is yet to be confirmed, though Trump has suggested a purpose-built octagon could be set up on the White House grounds with up to 25,000 spectators. UFC fights are typically staged in large arenas with the sport’s trademark eight-sided cage.
“When he called me and asked me to do it, he said: ‘I want Ivanka in the middle of this,’” White said. “Ivanka and I started talking about the possibilities and I put together all the renderings.”
Trump, who first teased the idea last month in Iowa, said the event would be part of a year-long programme of celebrations involving national parks and historic sites across the US.
The UFC event is the latest in a series of changes Trump has made to the White House during his second term, including redecorating the Oval Office, altering the Rose Garden, adding flagpoles, and planning a $200m East Wing ballroom.
The announcement follows Paramount’s $7.7bn deal to stream UFC fights, which came soon after the Trump administration approved a merger between Skydance and Paramount.