Trump is hosting the UFC tournament at the White House. What you need to know

The White House will host a mixed martial arts tournament organized by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) promotion on June 14. It will be timed to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the declaration of independence of the United States. President Donald Trump, who will celebrate his birthday on this day, proposed to fight in the very heart of Washington. How the tournament will be held and what it means for Trump is in the Izvestia article.

Organization of the tournament

• The White House, the official residence of the presidents of the United States, has several sports facilities on its territory: a tennis court, a basketball court, an outdoor swimming pool, a golf hole, and even a horseshoe throwing court (George H.W. Bush loved to play this game). In 2026, an octagon for mixed martial arts will also appear on the south lawn of the White House. On June 14, the UFC Freedom 250 tournament, dedicated to the 250th anniversary of the declaration of independence of the United States, will take place on the territory of the residence.

• The idea to hold the first full-fledged competitions in the White House was announced in 2025 by President Donald Trump. He said that the head of the UFC promotion, Dana White (whose last name coincidentally translates as "white"), will hold a tournament with fights for the championship title, which will be attended by 20-25 thousand spectators. Trump and White have been friends and support each other for a long time, the US president has repeatedly attended tournaments of the most prestigious fighting organization. The last time he was on the podium was in June 2025 at the UFC 316 tournament.

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• White confirmed the fighting in the White House, but with some reservations. The number of viewers had to be reduced to 4,300 for security reasons. There were no tickets for free sale, the organizers will allocate seats in the stands at their discretion. Trump will receive 1,000 invitations, and another 1,2 thousand places will be distributed among US Army personnel. At the same time, investors who invest over $1 million in hosting the tournament will still get ringside seats. For the rest of the fans, a fan zone will be organized south of the White House, which will be able to be visited by 85,000 fans.

• UFC Freedom 250 was originally supposed to be held on July 4, the US Independence Day. However, due to logistical problems that will arise during the anniversary celebrations, it was decided to postpone the tournament to June 14th. On this day, Flag Day is celebrated in the United States, and Trump himself will turn 80 years old. The day before the fights, an official weigh-in ceremony will be held at the Abraham Lincoln Memorial.

Tournament participants

• The main event of the tournament will be the fight for the lightweight title between the current title holder Ilia Topuria from Georgia and interim champion Justin Geiji from the USA. Arman Tsarukyan, who goes out to fight under the Armenian and Russian flags, will become a reserve participant in the battle in case of injury to one of the fighters.

• Initially, one of the participants in the main fight in the White House was supposed to be Russian fighter Islam Makhachev, who is the UFC welterweight champion. It was his candidacy that was proposed to the Topuria team, and the Georgian athlete agreed to move to a heavier weight category for the sake of such a fight. If he won, he could become the first UFC champion in three weight categories. However, Makhachev was forced to abandon the fight in front of Trump due to injury.

• The main fight of UFC Freedom 250 will be a duel between Brazilian Alex Pereira and Frenchman Cyril Gan. They will compete for the interim heavyweight title. Pereira was previously a two-time light heavyweight champion, but gave up the title to fight in a new weight class. Gan already held the interim heavyweight title. The winner of this bout will face the permanent heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall from Great Britain in the future.

Significance for Trump

• The UFC tournament will be part of the large-scale celebrations of the 250th anniversary of the United States, which are being implemented according to Trump's idea. Even during the election campaign, he promised a "grand party" in honor of the country's founding day. Trump personally led a White House working group called Freedom 250, which will coordinate the celebrations.

• As part of the celebration, commemorative coins will also be issued, including a gold dollar with the image of the current president, a national fair will be held, and an IndyCar auto race will be held on the streets of Washington. The FIFA World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19, will also take place against the backdrop of celebrations. One of the playoff matches, scheduled for July 4, will be held in Philadelphia, where the United States Declaration of Independence was signed.

• In the United States, the celebrations are actively criticized because of their politicization and Trump's excessive involvement. The reason for the discontent, for example, was the idea to issue a limited series of passports in which the head of the White House will be depicted on the cover. The holding of the tournament in the presidential residence also caused public criticism. Eight days before the fights, the activists filed a lawsuit accusing Trump of not seeking congressional permission to organize the tournament and providing financial benefits to the UFC, but his representatives rejected the claims.