UFC president Dana White defended the upcoming White House “Freedom 250” fight from critics, including Joe Rogan, who have suggested holding the event is insensitive or a possible safety concern amid the war in Iran, in a series of interviews published Tuesday.
UFC president Dana White defended hosting a fight at the White House amid the Iran war. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
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White told Rolling Stone the UFC “can’t just bend and break and roll over for every bad thing that happens in the world,” saying he’s “not going to not run my business” because of the Iran war or other crises.
The White House UFC fight is scheduled for June 14, which is both Flag Day and President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday, and White said it is expected to seat over 4,000 people in the stands on the South Lawn and another 85,000 at the nearby Ellipse park.
But the fight has attracted some critics, including podcaster Joe Rogan—a friend of White’s, whom he hired to do color commentary for the event—with Rogan saying on his podcast in March it is “weird to have a fight at the White House in the middle of a f***ing war.”
Rogan suggested the event could pose safety concerns on his March podcast episode, saying, “Having this very high profile event where everyone’s in one place at one time right there… it seems like you’re asking for,” before trailing off.
White also denied the event is political, telling Time in an interview on Tuesday—one of several he has done this week to promote the upcoming fight—that he is “spending a sh-tload of money to celebrate the 250th birthday of America.”
In interviews this week with Rolling Stone, Time and the New Yorker, White said the event came to be because Trump, whom he describes as a friend, approached him at a UFC match and said, “You know what? We should do a fight at the White House.” White told the New Yorker the UFC and the Trump administration began planning details days later. White offered some logistical details in interviews this week, telling the New Yorker the stands at the White House will seat slightly more than 4,000 spectators, of which Trump has 1,000 tickets to distribute and White has 200. Ari Emanuel, CEO of UFC owner TKO Holdings, has another 200 tickets to distribute, with the rest reserved for military members, White said. White told Time he invited several celebrities, including Adam Sandler, Tom Brady, Jared Leto, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Mario Lopez, but did not say whether they accepted. Fighters will warm up in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building and will walk out from the Oval Office, Time reported, and White told the New Yorker weigh-ins will happen at the Lincoln Memorial.
Across multiple interviews this week, White said his friendship with Trump is not about politics. White said his relationship with Trump dates back to 2001, when the UFC staged fights at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey. White told Rolling Stone Trump “showed up to the first fight of the night and stayed till the last fight,” saying he became a “very good friend.” White told Rolling Stone he and Trump “don’t talk politics,” saying Trump has never asked him to get involved politically. Though White did speak at the 2024 Republican National Convention, he told the New Yorker his speech was about Trump as a person and a friend, rather than about politics. White described himself as “down the middle, leaning a little left,” and an “eighties, nineties Democrat” to the New Yorker.
White defended Trump against allegations he is racist by invoking the president’s friendship with Michael Jackson. “I can tell you that the President had a very good relationship with Michael Jackson, and had Michael Jackson around his kids all the time, and defended him when that stuff was going down. So to call the guy a racist is crazy,” White told the New Yorker, saying there are “videos now popping up of Trump defending Michael Jackson” after the “Michael” movie opened in theaters last month.
White told the New Yorker a $7.7 billion deal the UFC struck with Paramount last year did not make him a billionaire. “I do really well,” White said, adding, “I spend too much money. I’ll never be a billionaire.” Forbes estimated last year White’s net worth exceeds $600 million.
Trump first announced the UFC fight at the White House in July 2025, telling supporters at a rally in Iowa, “We’re going to have a UFC fight, think of this, on the grounds of the White House,” also praising White as “one of a kind.” The UFC announced the lineup for the White House event in March, though the card was met with mixed reactions from fans as it lacked legends like Conor McGregor or Jon Jones. The event’s main fight is a lightweight match between American Justin Gaethje against Ilia Topuria of Georgia.
UFC’s Hyped White House Fight Card Missing Sport’s Legends (Forbes)
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