Rousey, who is close to White, says the White House show “fell extremely short of expectations.”
While still being finalized, the card features two championship fights. Brazil’s Alex Periera will meet France’s Ciryl Gane for the interim UFC heavyweight title. Then Spanish-Georgian lightweight champion Ilia Topuria takes on interim champ Justin Gaethje, one of just two Americans who currently hold even a share of the UFC’s 11 championship belts.
The White House did not answer questions about criticism of the card or the event’s aggressive politics. Instead, communications director Steven Cheung, said, “This will be one of the greatest and most historic sports events in history.”
Cheung, a UFC spokesman before joining Trump’s 2016 campaign, called Trump’s event “a testament to his vision to celebrate America’s monumental 250th anniversary.”
A UFC spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
Then-Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump talks with UFC CEO Dana White during an election night watch party at the Palm Beach Convention Center on Nov. 6, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Evan Vucci, Associated Press
Trump helped reinforce UFC’s mass appeal
Once famously derided as “human cockfighting” by late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., UFC has been a major sports league in the United States since signing a media-rights deal with ESPN in 2018, said Patrick Wyman, a historian and host of popular podcasts on the subject who is also a former longtime MMA journalist.
Trump, a fixture at heavyweight boxing matches in the 1980s, gave UFC a boost a generation ago by hosting early bouts, including 2001’s “Battle on the Boardwalk,” at his casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Wyman said that even as Trump and White have remained close, UFC has deliberately prioritized building the league’s brand over that of its individual fighters. That has kept most stars from achieving crossover appeal.