UFC’s White House event concept has been the talk of MMA since U.S. president Donald Trump and UFC CEO Dana White revealed intentions to make it a reality in 2026.
Several big-named fighters have proclaimed their desire to be part of the event, including the recently retired all-time great Jon Jones. The ongoing saga between Jones and the previously hostaged heavyweight title ended with Jones’ surprise retirement two weeks ago at UFC Baku’s post-fight press conference. However, Jones has since claimed he’s already enrolled back in the UFC’s drug-testing pool and is ready and willing to fight at the White House event.
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Thanks to his checkered past outside the Octagon — Jones is currently facing a new criminal charge among a long line of many — the former two-division champion has proven to be unreliable at times on the UFC’s biggest platforms. That’s why White isn’t sold on the idea of Jones being a part of the action.
“I can’t risk putting him in big positions in a big spot and have something go wrong, especially the White House,” White said of Jones at UFC 318’s post-fight press conference.
Jones responded to White’s comments on social media Sunday morning.
I heard the comments made at last night’s press conference. While I was a little disappointed, I’m still in the UFC’s drug testing pool, staying sharp, and continuing to train like a professional. I’ll be ready for whatever comes next.
In a recent interview, I shared that the opportunity to fight at the White House gave me something deeper to fight for, a “why” that goes beyond paychecks or belts. Fighting for my country gives me a greater purpose!
The silver lining in all this is knowing the fans see my heart. They see, I am ready and willing to take on anyone, to represent my country on a historic stage. For me, it’s never been just about the opponent. I’m chasing legacy, something timeless, something bigger than the moment.
So for now, I’ll keep grinding, stay patient, and stay faithful. I’m ready to fight on July 4th.
UFC’s potential White House trip has remained a fixture of any public conversation White is a part of since the news broke. While it may be too soon to imagine what the fight lineup could actually look like, White knows he’ll have to make preparations far earlier than usual because of the event’s unique challenge.
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That being said, he’s adamant the Las Vegas Sphere is still more difficult to set up for a fight night, as the UFC did with its Emmy award-winning show this past October at UFC 306.
“That fight’s a year away, so I’m not even thinking about anything right now,” White said. “The landscape will change so much by next Fourth of July. Who knows what’s going to happen? Who knows what’s going to be on the card or what the main event will be, or who holds all the titles? Everything could be completely different. It’s not even worth thinking about right now.
“I have other problems. I’m dealing with the logistics and all the things on figuring out how to make this thing happen. How do we want to do it? I’m going to fly out there in about 10 days, and we’ll have all the renderings done, sit down with [Trump] and go through the renderings, and see what he wants to do and doesn’t want to do.
“The difference with the White House is I don’t think they’ve ever had anything very heavy out on the lawn, and the Octagon alone weighs 20,000 pounds.”
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