UFC Freedom 250 is less than a week away, and expectations could not be higher.
On Sunday, the world’s premier MMA promotion makes its first, and likely only trip to the White House, hosting one of the most-talked about sporting events of the year — cage fights on the White House lawn. The event is part of the United States’ America 250 project, a celebration of the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding, and as it’s almost here, UFC CEO Dana White marveled that this is really about to happen.
“It’s definitely a one-of-one event,” White told TNT Fight Sports. “And when you think about where we came from, and how this whole sport started, and how it was frowned upon in the United States, to now be headed to the White House is pretty surreal.”
White and the UFC are no strangers to putting on bespoke, one-off events, most recently holding an event at the Las Vegas Sphere in 2024, in celebration of Mexican Independence. That event featured several unique promotional aspects and ran the promotion a reported $20 million. UFC White House will cost significantly more, but White promises an even more spectacular experience, too.
“The Sphere should’ve won every award there is in production,” White said. “It did not. Which doesn’t surprise me, very political. If we don’t win every production award for the White House fight, they should just stop doing production awards, because you’re full of shit. …
“The main event guys will come from the Oval Office,” White added. “The walkouts and everything for this fight are incredible and a one-of-one.”
Whether UFC White House will earn any accolades remains to be seen, but the event certainly has drawn attention. And White and his team believe that attention is going to lead to the biggest event in MMA history.
“For UFC fans all over the world, this is a very unique experience for everybody,” White said. “We’re expecting Super Bowl-type numbers for this fight.”
For reference, Super Bowl LX, which took place in February, drew an average of 124.9 million viewers in the United States. The most-viewed MMA event of all time, in the United States, is currently the Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano Netflix card that took place in May, drawing 9 million domestic viewers.
UFC White House takes place this Sunday, June 14, and is headlined by a lightweight title fight between Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje.
Read the full article here
