First daughter Ivanka Trump is helping coordinate the much-anticipated White House UFC fight as the Trump administration gears up for a series of patriotic events marking the nation’s 250th anniversary of independence in 2026.
“Ivanka is a longtime fan of UFC and is honored to help Dana White create an exciting event celebrating a sport beloved by so many Americans, as part of our country’s 250th celebration,” a source close to Ivanka Trump told Fox News Digital this week.
In July, President Donald Trump announced that a UFC fight would be hosted at the White House as part of the nation’s Independence Day festivities. “Every one of our national parks, battlefields and historic sites are going to have special events in honor of ‘America250,’ and I even think we’re going to have a UFC fight,” Trump said in a speech at the Iowa State Fairgrounds on the eve of the Fourth of July.
“Does anybody watch UFC? The great Dana White?” he continued. “We’re going to have a UFC fight. We’re going to have a UFC fight — think of this — on the grounds of the White House. We have a lot of land there.”
In August, Trump ally and UFC CEO Dana White confirmed that the White House fight is “absolutely going to happen,” adding that it will be held on July 4, 2026, to commemorate the 250th anniversary of America’s independence.
“Think about that, the 250th birthday of the United States of America, the UFC will be on the White House South Lawn live on CBS,” White told the Associated Press Wednesday. “This is a one-of-one event.”
During a recent podcast appearance, White vowed to deliver “the baddest card of all time,” confirming that Jon Jones — who retired in June and celebrated a recent win by dancing like Trump — has reentered the drug-testing pool in preparation for the 2026 fight. “Everybody wants to fight on this card. Literally everybody,” White told the “Full Send Podcast” in July.
White first revealed Ivanka’s role in organizing the White House UFC fight in an August interview with CBS, saying the president wanted his daughter to be part of the planning.
“When (Trump) called me and asked me to do it, he said, ‘I want Ivanka in the middle of this,’” White told CBS Mornings Tuesday. “So, Ivanka reached out to me, and her and I started talking about the possibilities, where it would be and, you know, I put together all the renderings.”
