Dana White, UFC chief and friend of Donald Trump, confirmed that the mixed martial arts giant is planning a fight on the White House lawn next July 4. Ivanka Trump has reappeared to help with the details.“It is definitely going to happen,” White told CBS Mornings on Tuesday. He spoke with the president Monday night, he said, and plans to meet with Donald and Ivanka at the end of the month to finalize plans and review venue renderings.“When he called me and asked me to do it, he said, ‘I want Ivanka in the middle of this,'” White said. “So Ivanka reached out to me, and … I started talking about the possibilities.” The event, which. regularly fills stadiums and arenas, would likely need to be scaled down.White said it’s too early to name participating fighters.His comments follow a major UFC rights deal with Paramount announced yesterday, days after under new Skydance leadership clinched its merger and assumed control of the media giant. The seven-year mostly streaming deal is worth an average of $1.1 billion annually and will make fights free for Paramount+ subscribers, replacing the previous pay-per-view model. Select events to be simulcast on Paramount-owned CBS.White said UFC will continue hosting pay-per-view events.Streamers have been increasingly turning to live sports to lock in viewers, as per NBCUniversal’s recent rich NBA rights deal. “Live sports, you have to watch live. You have to tune in. It is a destination watch,” White said. “Sports are a big deal to these streaming services.”
© 2025 Deadline.