UFC White House Event Details: Dana White Confirms July 4, 2026 Fight

By now, it’s no old news that a White House PPV Concept Card is on the docket for next year’s American Independence. UFC CEO Dana White has reiterated that plans for a South Lawn card are still on, but a work in progress.

In his 23-year reign as MMA supremo, White has formulated many cards and events. But the logistics behind this are a tough one. There is still time enough to build a PPV lineup around the South Lawn event. But here is what is known so far.

ALSO READ: UFC White House Fight: Trump Confirms Historic UFC Event for July 4, 2026

UFC White House card tracker:

• Dana White says at the UFC 318 post-fight conference that he can’t risk putting Jon Jones in a White House headlining spot
• The bossman tells the NELK Boys that it’d be comped tickets till the Washington Monument and perhaps background-check exclusive spectators for the actual fight
• Jon Jones is still hopeful for the fight of global import and has entered the test pool, which is now confirmed
• Dana White says right now, he trusts Conor McGregor more to return for a White House PPV card
• On Tuesday, during DWCS Season 9 premiere at APEX, Las Vegas, Dana White lists challenges with such a setup, but says they’d do it anyway

A ‘Bones’ not to pick: Jon Jones hopeful despite continued snub from White House card

All-time great Jon Jones was always ‘Plan B’ for a White House PPV concept card; it’d have made sense to include ‘Bones’ for the America 250 Celebration. The original Independence signing treaty is just the ratification of a peace treaty signing process. The Founding Fathers got out of the monarch’s rule of King George III, AKA, their “Independence.” So a UK-versus-USA fight made sense, and one was already docked for it.

However, ex-UFC HW Jones quit rather than unifying 265-pound championship gold with English heavyweight Tom Aspinall. Aspinall is now the default UFC undisputed heavyweight titleholder and Jones made it worse, raking up interest in the UFC White House card just two weeks after retirement.

It’d naturally necessitate 6 months of tests, gear-free, and to be passed by athletic commissions. He even called his retirement short-lived and re-entered DFSI testing pools, per the UFC Anti-Doping Policy (UFC ADP) standards, 

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…

— Jonny Meat (@JonnyBones) July 20, 2025

Dana White said he’s hesitant to book Jones for such a mega card, given (in all probability) his contentious, unlawful run-ins and the fact that he walked away from a done-deal to fight Aspinall. Jones, though, is hopeful he’ll make the spot, and he fits the bill as an American staple.

The Notorious One

During his ‘JRE’ MMA Show #168, even color commentator Joe Rogan, a die-hard Jones fan, agreed on White’s decision. The UFC bossman told the media scrum during UFC 318 post-fight interviews that he can’t solely base a PPV top spot around Jones, given the gravity of the locale.

It’s a tale “as old as time,” Rogan quipped, with Jones’ outside life and decisions affecting his fight life. However, one person’s resolve White supports despite being similarly contentious, is Conor McGregor. ‘The Notorious’ one is yet to have any form of a combat comeback since his 2021 TKO injury. He, too, has entered the test pools and wants to fight at the card.

An Irishman, always on the news for the wrong reasons, headlining a global South Lawn fight makes less sense than an American Jon Jones. But Dana White trusts it more, as he said on Jim Rome’s (@jimrome) ‘Sirius 161 / XM 206’ Show,

Dana White is asked if he trusts Conor McGregor and Jon Jones to headline the UFC White House card

“I trust Conor… Jon I’m a little more skeptical about.” 😬

🎥 @jimrome #UFCpic.twitter.com/Occ9qBIZaw

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) August 14, 2025

The vote from the bossman essentially also puts an end to the rumor that McGregor was removed from the active competition roster. But will he inherit a UFC White House PPV main card spot? There’s no telling yet.

Challenges with the White House card and political stake

Throughout his years, Dana White has put together mega cards in order and fights to live by. Just recently, he made a 16k HAPTIC-riddled media package, award-winning $20 million show at the ‘Sphere’ LV. The resulting UFC Noche celebration came out with a whopping $21,829,245 in live gate output!

But a UFC White House card is different. As a three-time RNC speaker, GOP task force member, and close friend to Prez Donald Trump, his friendship is also on the pin here. Trump’s aggressive anti-immigration Op through “expedited removal”  and his ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) have had severe backlash.

But Trump has always played the rhetoric of a fighter in a fighter’s world, which now is UFC and bringing the global sport to a venue like the South Lawn eases the splash. So it has to be a win for the White House as well. But that’s not even where the problem starts for White; just the logistics and weight, and setup is a headscratcher.

The Octagon is 25,000lbs, right? So, so…[see] it’s going to be incredibly challenging for us; then there’s the weather which I hate and said I’ll never do again after Abu Dhabi [due to open weather] …I don’t give a sh*t— if it snows — or what, we are going to be out on that south lawn [so it’s tough].

Dana White told media scrum post-fight at Las Vegas, during Dana White Contender Series 77

White doesn’t deter due to the challenge; he even agreed to arrange a super fight between two tech moguls at the Colosseum! The South Lawn, though, presents its own kind of macro and micro challenges. Keep checking this space for more White House fight news further down the road.