Trump to host UFC bout on White House lawn on 80th birthday

President Donald Trump will host a seven-bout UFC card on the White House South Lawn on June 14 — his 80th birthday — as part of the nation's 250th independence anniversary celebrations, the Washington Post reported.

The event marks the first time a professional combat sports competition will be staged at the White House, and comes amid scrutiny over potential conflicts of interest: Trump holds a personal stake in TKO Group Holdings, UFC's publicly traded parent company.

The event, dubbed "UFC Freedom 250," will feature Ilia Topuria — the UFC lightweight champion from Georgia — defending his title against American challenger Justin Gaethje in the main bout. Fourteen fighters, eight American and six international, are scheduled across the seven-match card, according to the Washington Post. An octagon-shaped cage and metal arena structure have been installed on the South Lawn to seat roughly 4,000 invited guests, with one-quarter of those spots reserved for active military personnel.

An additional 85,000 fans are expected to watch on large screens set up outside the White House perimeter, the Washington Post reported. Fighters will enter the cage directly from the Oval Office, according to the Sports Business Journal.

Trump's ties to UFC date to the early 2000s, when he hosted bouts at his Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City after major arenas refused the sport. "He gave us our start when nobody would talk to us," UFC CEO Dana White told Fox News in 2018. Trump became the first sitting president to attend a live UFC event in 2019.

TKO Group Holdings, the UFC's parent company, expects to spend $60 million on production and fighter payouts, the Sports Business Journal reported. Financial disclosures show Trump purchased between $15,001 and $50,000 in TKO stock on March 25. A Trump Organization spokesperson said in a statement that "Neither President Trump, his family, nor The Trump Organization has any role in selecting, directing, approving, influencing or soliciting specific investments."

Paramount is broadcasting the event under a seven-year, $7.7 billion rights deal with UFC announced in February 2026, according to Time magazine. The Washington Post noted that Paramount's separate $110 billion proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery is currently pending regulatory review by the Trump administration. Crypto.com, one of the event's sponsors, announced a strategic partnership with Trump Media in August 2025.

Weigh-ins for UFC Freedom 250 are set for the Lincoln Memorial on June 13 — the eve of what the White House has billed as the centerpiece of its semiquincentennial celebration.