President Donald Trump says he plans to build a 100,000-seat stadium near the White House to host a UFC event on his birthday.
The president confirmed the MMA event last year, despite his critics calling plans to build an arena for the event “Kim Jong Un-level madness.”
“They’re going to come up with some really amazing stuff,” Trump told reporters. “It really ties into our great 250th birthday, where we had a lot of great things.
“As you know, the UFC is coming to the White House and they’re building a stadium there. We’re going to have over 100,000 people. It’s going to be a lot of…I won’t even say how many people because I think it could set a record for the fight. It’s going to be very, very important.”
President Trump says he plans to build a 100,000-seat stadium near the White House (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Trump made the announcement during a meeting in the Oval Office to discuss his executive order to bring the IndyCar street race to the nation’s capital.
However, Trump’s critics have slammed plans to build a 100,000-seat arena.
“Do the American people have a say? Who pays for this?” asked one X user.
“This is what America needs,” another user wrote on X, “right now. No Epstein. No war. No dying service members. Let’s talk in the ballroom.”
“This is Kim Jong Un-level madness,” author John Pavlovitz wrote on X .
UFC CEO Dana White reveals fans will soon know who will appear at Trump’s birthday fight (Reuters)
The project will be another major real estate project undertaken by the president at the White House.
During his second term, Trump demolished the East Wing to make way for a $400 million ballroom and paved the White House Rose Garden. He also revealed plans to build a giant arch for America’s 250th birthday.
However, most plans surrounding his birthday UFC fight, which will take place on June 14, are being kept under wraps.
“We’ve been keeping this a secret,” UFC CEO Dana White told iFL TV. “I have some signage, I’m sure you’ve seen it, hanging in our war room. This isn’t even on the signage.
“We got a whiteboard and wrote down the fights and then erased them during every blind date session,” he continued. “Typically, matchmaking happens every Tuesday. For the past two weeks, it’s been every day.”
“I’m going to announce the whole card this week,” White added. “The card is ready.”
Last year, Conor McGregor said he wanted to fight (PA Archive)
Conor McGregor claimed in October 2025 that his appearance in the fight was “a done deal” and even said the deal had been “signed”.
Days later, White confirmed that the lineup had not yet been finalized and that negotiations were ongoing.
Jon Jones also said he might appear in the game.
“I’m in talks with the UFC about the White House,” Jones said. “I’m a very, very proud American and I can’t wait to represent the United States again, so we’ll see what happens.”
