UFC President Dana White revealed in a recent interview with The New Yorker Radio Hour that the idea for a historic UFC event on the White House lawn came directly from President Donald Trump during a night out at an event.
“We were at an event, and I can’t remember if it was in New Jersey or Miami, we being me and the president, and he leans over to me in the middle of the match and goes, ‘We should do an event at the White House,'” White told host David Remnick. “I said, ‘Yes. Yes, we should. I’m in. I’m in.'”
The event, timed to coincide with America’s 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, took shape almost immediately after that conversation.
“Literally, that was a Saturday. On Monday, the White House started calling and saying, ‘Let’s start getting the logistics,'” White said.
The visual presentation of the event has been a priority for White, who said the goal is to ensure the White House itself remains the centerpiece.
“I don’t want to see a light, a screen, a microphone. All I want to see is the White House, the entire White House, and the monument if the fi ght goes the other way,” he said. To achieve that, his team built a custom lighting structure he calls “The Claw.”
Among the matches White had in mind for the landmark card was a women’s strawweight title bout between Mackenzie Dern and former champion Zhang Weili.
In a recent interview with TIME, White admitted that he wanted to book a women’s strawweight title match between Mackenzie Dern and Zhang Weili for the event. According to White, the idea was partly driven by the potential global reach of the matchup, particularly because of Zhang’s international popularity.
White said, “We did try to make a women’s match. We couldn’t get it done.”
According to White, the matchup ultimately fell through because Zhang is currently taking time away from competition.
The UFC White House event is scheduled for June 14 and will feature a lightweight title match between Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje in the main event. In the co-main event, Alex Pereira faces Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight championship. The event will be broadcast through UFC’s new seven-year deal with Paramount Plus.
