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President Trump says he wants to stage UFC fight on White House grounds

By Jackie Northam
Published July 4, 2025 at 2:29 PM EDT
President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a rally at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, Thursday, July 3, 2025, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Alex Brandon
/
AP
President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a rally at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, Thursday, July 3, 2025, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Trump has announced that an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bout will be held on the grounds of the White House next year, one of many events to be held to celebrate America's 250th birthday.

During a speech Thursday at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Trump indicated UFC president Dana White is going to organize one of the mixed martial arts fights on the grounds of the White House.

"We have a lot of land there," Trump said, adding that it will be a "full fight" and that up to 25,000 people will show up for the spectacle.

President Trump has been known to attend Ultimate Fighting Championship events over the years, most recently in Newark, New Jersey, in June. In 2001, he hosted a UFC match at his Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City.

Trump is also a friend of White, who last year introduced Trump at the Republican National Convention, before he accepted the Republican presidential nomination.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump was "dead serious" about the plan. Writing on X, she said "It's going to be EPIC!"

Trump said the UFC fight at the White House was just one of many events that are being planned to mark the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

"Every one of our national park battlefields and historic sites are going to have special events in honor of America250," he said at the Des Moines rally, which kicked off the celebrations.

Trump said the climactic celebrations, on July 4th, 2026, will include a festival on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

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Jackie Northam
Jackie Northam is NPR's International Affairs Correspondent. She is a veteran journalist who has spent three decades reporting on conflict, geopolitics, and life across the globe - from the mountains of Afghanistan and the desert sands of Saudi Arabia, to the gritty prison camp at Guantanamo Bay and the pristine beauty of the Arctic.
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