Buy or Sell 6 UFC Fighters Who Will Be on White House Card
There are still a couple of huge UFC pay-per-views to come in 2025, but none are being talked about quite as much as the promotion's rumored event at the White House next year.
The White House card, which will help commemorate the United States' 250th anniversary, will occur on Sunday, 14 June 2026, according to President Donald Trump. While that's still some time away, planning will soon be underway, and a whole host of UFC stars will be hoping to be involved.
Of course, not everyone will receive a call to participate. Here's our take on which fighters—among those who have expressed interest—are likely to receive an invite, and which ones are probably going to end up disappointed.
Conor McGregor: Sell
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Conor McGregor has campaigned louder and more incessantly for a spot on the UFC White House bill than any other fighter, but don't expect the Irishman to fight on it.
In some ways, McGregor competing in the headliner would make sense. He is the biggest star in MMA history, and, having not fought since 2021, he will generate a ton of buzz if he fights again.
There are just a few problems with this idea—and they're big ones.
The first, and simplest, is that McGregor is still expected to fight Michael Chandler in his long-discussed return to action. That matchup makes no sense for this card.
Neither Trump nor the UFC brass is going to want to watch Chandler—a flag-waving American patriot—get whooped on the White House lawn. They're also not going to watch McGregor, who has visited the U.S. president, get beaten.
There are other issues. McGregor has been embroiled in a litany of legal issues for years. He was also recently suspended for failing to report his whereabouts to the UFC's internal anti-doping organization. To top it all off, he seems to be partying and traveling more than he's training.
None of this is likely to matter to President Trump, of course, but in a world where athletic commissions still exist, the logistics of getting the Irishman back in the Octagon by June are complicated.
To put it bluntly, it's just not happening. No chance.
Jon Jones: Sell
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Like Conor McGregor, Jon Jones has been vocal about his desire for a spot on the UFC White House bill. Also like the Irishman, he's probably going to end up watching it on TV like the rest of us—unless he can score a cageside seat, but those will be full of politicians and billionaires.
The main reason we can assume Jones won't be invited to compete at the White House is that UFC boss Dana White seems to have lost all faith in the former two-division champ, who has frequent brushes with the law and pulled out of fights for a number of reasons in the past.
Of course, there is also the fact that Jones is now many months into his retirement. The MMA legend retired earlier this year, after months of speculation, only to fight Tom Aspinall—the one opponent on the UFC roster fans had been clamoring to see him face.
Does anyone really expect him to suddenly accept a bout with Aspinall just to compete at the White House? It seems like a long shot, even for a patriot like "Bones."
Alex Pereira: Buy
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Alex Pereira recently began a historic third reign as a UFC champion and is probably the biggest star actively competing in the promotion right now. He also happens to be interested in a fight at the White House—most likely in the main event.
Of course, Pereira being Brazilian makes him a somewhat unusual choice for the main attraction of a card intended to celebrate the USA, but as long as he's not fighting an American, it's possible.
The good news is that—unless Jon Jones ends his retirement to fight him—the two front-runners for the next crack at Pereira are from far outside the U.S. One is the Czech Republic's Jiri Prochazka; the other is Carlos Ulberg, from New Zealand.
Admittedly, neither fight seems like a perfect fit for the White House main event, but Pereira has headlined plenty of blockbusters before—namely, last year's landmark UFC 300 card. He would surely rise to the occasion again if the UFC asked him.
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Colby Covington: Buy
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Colby Covington is arguably the best-known Donald Trump supporter in the UFC. He has been a staunch backer of the U.S. president for years, and he has even visited him at the White House.
While he knows his claims of being Trump's favorite fighter are inaccurate, he is clearly in the running for that distinction. That makes him a definite candidate for a spot on the White House lineup.
Of course, if Covington does get a spot on the card, it won't be in the main event. The trash-talking welterweight has lost all credibility as a serious contender, having come up short in three title bids over the course of his career and losing three of his last five, dating back to 2020. He is no longer a marquee attraction.
That being said, he remains a pretty big name, and with the right dance partner, he would make a solid addition to the White House card—probably the main card.
There are a number of interesting opponents for him in such an event, but don't expect him to face another American, like Stephen Thompson.
Covington will almost certainly get a winnable matchup against somebody from abroad, as the UFC gives him every chance to back up what is sure to be non-stop, patriotism-soaked, pre-fight trash talk.
Sean Strickland: Sell
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On the surface, Sean Strickland is exactly the kind of fighter we can expect to participate in the UFC's White House card next year.
The former middleweight champion is a proud American, and he's arguably the biggest star in the middleweight division outside of Khamzat Chimaev and Israel Adesanya. However, it's difficult to imagine him getting a spot on the bill.
The first problem is that, despite supporting Trump in the past, his tune on the president seems to be changing—and he hasn't been quiet about it. That's not a great way to get a call to fight on the White House lawn.
Strickland also can't seem to stay out of trouble outside the cage lately. He is currently finishing up a suspension for his role in a brawl at a regional MMA event earlier this year, and he seldom goes more than a few weeks without some kind of incident.
None of that is likely to bother Trump or White, but it does call into question Strickland's ability to actually show up for the event.
The 34-year-old has also had more than a few atrocious fights—a point that can also be made against Covington. Sure, he's had some great ones too, but he can hardly be depended on for excitement or decisive victories, which is surely what Trump expects from the home team next June.
For those reasons, it seems likely the team building the White House card will just spare itself the risk and refrain from calling Strickland at all.
Buy: Sean O'Malley
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While Sean O'Malley briefly reigned as the UFC bantamweight champion, he has since suffered back-to-back losses to Merab Dvalishvili, which dealt a significant blow to his hype. That being said, he remains a big star for the UFC, and would make a solid addition to next year's White House card—though it's unlikely he'd get the call to headline.
We know it's a chance he wants. "Suga" has called for a spot on the bill multiple times, calling it a "once in a lifetime" opportunity. There's good reason to assume his wish will be granted.
The main reason is that, in addition to being a big star, he is an American who is capable of beating most of the fighters in his division—and in emphatic fashion, thanks to his slick and potent striking game.
It's easy to imagine the UFC matching him up with a high-profile bantamweight from overseas on the card, like Umar Nurmagomedov or Song Yadong. Then again, he has also been called out by recent title challenger Cory Sandhagen. Sandhagen, of course, is also an American, which may leave some American fans confused about who to root for, but that's such a good scrap that it really doesn't matter.
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