When Donald Trump announced that the Ultimate Fighting Championship would be bringing an event to the grounds of the White House, a lot of eyebrows were raised.

We’re talking about the home of the US president – the leader of the free world. We all know that Donald Trump is a big fan of mixed martial arts, and he attends a lot of major events, but few could’ve imagined that we’d ever see something like this. Of course, it hasn’t actually taken place yet, but it certainly feels as if that’s the direction we’re heading in.

For the UFC, and Donald Trump, this would be one of of the highlights of 2026 if it goes ahead. There are political figures both on Trump’s side and against him who won’t particularly care, but there are a lot of folks who will be keeping a close eye on proceedings.

In a recent episode of his show, Ariel Helwani gave his thoughts on how big this could be for the UFC.

Ariel Helwani on Donald Trump’s announcement

“Could you imagine what that would look like just in terms of a spectacle? Like, we talked about the spectacle of the sphere and stuff. Could you imagine that? The White House in the background with the octagon. Oh my god. 

“The symbolism—about 30 years ago, this sport was banned in the vast majority of this country, and now, ten years after it was still banned in New York, we’re talking about an actual UFC event at the White House. That’s pretty insane.”

Donald Trump will love promoting this and the same will be even more accurate for Dana White, but it’s still hard to believe that it’s actually a feasible possibility, if only because of the logistics involved.

Buckle up, fight fans, this could be huge.