Booking a Dream UFC White House Card in 2026
If Donald Trump and Dana White are to be believed, the UFC will promote a historic MMA card on the White House Lawn to commemorate the 250th birthday of the United States of America next Independence Day.
Of course, most would agree the promises of politicians and fight promoters should be taken with a golfball-sized grain of salt. Still, if this plan goes ahead, there's little question the result will be one of the biggest nights in combat sports history.
Already, some of the biggest stars the UFC has produced have stepped forward to call for spots on the White House card, including Conor McGregor and Jon Jones. Dozens of others have shared their hopes of participating.
But who actually gets the call to compete? It's impossible to say how the UFC would book the card. Case in point: last year's Noche UFC card—a celebration of Mexican combat sports history—was headlined by Sean O'Malley and Merab Dvalishvili, who hail from the U.S. and Georgia, respectively.
In this article, we'll discuss the possibilities for next year's potential White House card. But first, a few parameters.
First and foremost, we won't include fighters who are not returning, which is why McGregor will not be on the bill, despite his numerous promises about returning to competition.
Secondly, we're going to include an American in every fight. You never know how the home team will fare on an MMA card, but the privileged cluster of billionaires and Hollywood A-listers who make it onto the White House Lawn will want somebody to root for.
Let's get to it.
Main Event: Tom Aspinall vs. Jon Jones
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Let's start with the obvious.
Above, I said no retired fighters would be on the bill for this hypothetical White House card—and named Conor McGregor specifically. Then I included Jon Jones, who announced his retirement from MMA in late June. Not only that, I'm suggesting a fight between Jones and England's Tom Aspinall—a man he spent the last few years shunning.
The key detail here is that McGregor hasn't fought since 2021, when he suffered a disastrous stoppage loss to Dustin Poirier. Jones, meanwhile, fought last November, and seemingly only retired because he's lost interest in MMA after well over a decade of dominance in two divisions.
Jones, born in New York and a long-time resident of Albuquerque, has stated repeatedly he wants to be part of the UFC's White House event. If he gets his wish, there is no other fight to make than a clash with Aspinall.
Jones and Aspinall were the UFC's undisputed and interim heavyweight champions for years. Despite the fact that nearly every fight fan— as well as Dana White and most notably Aspinall—desperately wanted to make the fight, it never came together.
It remains one of the biggest fights the UFC can make right now—possibly the biggest outright—and if the promotion wants the White House card to be special, this is the main event it needs. It's a clash of heavyweight titans. It's the United States vs. England. It's obvious.
Granted, White recently said he doesn't trust Jones enough to book him for such a high-profile occasion. But if the UFC boss really thinks about it, he'll surely see there is no better fight to celebrate the American 250th Birthday than this one.
Co-Main Event: Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes
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As compelling as the idea of a UFC card on the White House Lawn is, the timing isn't great.
As of today, there is only one U.S. champion in the UFC. One champion in 12 divisions. Of course, a lot could change between now and July 4, 2026, but there isn't even a single American booked to challenge for a UFC title at present, so it's hard to imagine the country will have a wealth of champions to choose from as this proposed card gets put together.
The good news is the UFC does have one American champion—and she's very, very good: Kayla Harrison.
The 35-year-old claimed the UFC bantamweight title with a dominant submission victory over Julianna Peña earlier this year. It was the biggest achievement of her combat sports career to date, but hardly the first feather in her cap, as she'd already twice claimed lightweight gold in the PFL and twice won Olympic gold in judo.
A quick look at the UFC women's bantamweight rankings reveals there are almost no interesting fights for Harrison at the moment. The good news is that Brazilian legend Amanda Nunes—widely considered the greatest female fighter in MMA history—recently announced plans to return to competition to challenge the new champ.
This fight may not be Conor McGregor or Khabib Nurmagomedov, but it holds huge significance, particularly in the context of women's MMA. It's the perfect co-headliner if the Octagon does touch down on the White House Lawn.
Max Holloway vs. Charles Oliveira II
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Former featherweight champion Max Holloway was back in action in the main event of UFC 318 last weekend, defeating the retiring Dustin Poirier to move onto a two-fight win streak in the lightweight division.
We suggested the UFC book a rematch between Holloway and former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira—potentially with the former's novelty "BMF" title on the line.
That suggestion was not made with the expectation that it wouldn't happen until next July, but one doesn't have to think about it for long to conclude this is a perfect fight for the White House show.
Hawaii's Holloway is one of the greatest featherweights of all time, and easily one of the greatest fighters to emerge from the United States. Meanwhile, there are few more compelling lightweight foes for him than Brazilian legend Oliveira.
Yes, Holloway beat Oliveira in 2015, but their fight ended when the Brazilian suffered a freaky esophageal tear in the first round, and both men have enjoyed iconic reigns as UFC champions since then.
A rematch would be big if it happened tomorrow. It would be huge in the shadow of the White House on the Fourth of July.
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Sean Strickland vs. Israel Adesanya II
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Sean Strickland's 2023 victory over Israel Adesanya was one of the biggest upsets of the year.
Nobody expected him to beat the Nigerian-born New Zealander, let alone decisively, but he did exactly that with a well-deserved unanimous-decision victory and claimed the UFC middleweight belt in the process.
Strickland's title reign didn't last long. The Californian-born Las Vegas resident lost his title to Dricus Du Plessis in his first defense and later failed to reclaim the belt from the same man.
However, he remains one of the biggest stars in the middleweight division, thanks almost exclusively to the fact that he is never afraid to speak his mind, which endears him to some fight fans and repulses others.
Strickland is a proud American, and it would not be surprising at all if he got an invitation to fight on the White House Lawn. If the 34-year-old is part of the card, a rematch with Adesanya makes perfect sense.
The Auckland resident is an even bigger star than Strickland and has been chomping at the bit for a chance to redeem himself against the American.
Sean O'Malley vs. Umar Nurmagomedov
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No conversation about the biggest American stars in the UFC today would be complete complete without mentioning former bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley.
His haters will point out his title dreams are dashed for the moment. First, he lost his title with a decision defeat to Merab Dvalishvili last year. Then he suffered a far more decisive decision loss to Dvalishvili in their immediate rematch a few months ago. He didn't turn out to be the dominant champion his supporters proclaimed he would be.
However—just like Strickland and Adesanya above—O'Malley's popularity was never tied to having a belt. He was a big star before he became a champion, and he remains a big star now.
As such, it would not be surprising to see him end up fighting at the White House. If he does, one of the most alluring opponents for him would be Umar Nurmagomedov.
The Russian, who started 2025 with an undefeated 18-0 record, is riding his own decision loss to Dvalishvili. He has not fought since, but he will probably return to action soon. He would make a great adversary for O'Malley next July, no matter what happens between then and now.
Undercard
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Aljamain Sterling (USA) vs. Patricio Freire (Brazil)
Michael Chandler (USA) vs. Rafael Fiziev (Kyrgyzstan)
Derrick Lewis (USA) vs. Shamil Gaziev (Bahrain)
Erin Blanchfield (USA) vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius (Canada)
Colby Covington (USA) vs. Gilbert Burns (Brazil)
Brendan Allen (USA) vs. Paulo Costa (Brazil)
Jim Miller (USA) vs. Thiago Moises (Brazil)
Nate Landwehr (USA) vs. Kyle Nelson (Canada)
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