Report: UFC White House event to cost TKO $60 million

When UFC headed to The Sphere in Las Vegas in 2024, Dana White said the event cost $20 million. The event at the White House is expected to cost triple that.

The fight at the White House in June is expected to cost TKO roughly $60 million, according to a report from Puck. Set for June 14, the event is part of the festivities to celebrate the United States of America’s 250th anniversary of independence.

Previously, UFC CEO Dana White said it would be the “most-watched UFC event ever” with broadcasts on CBS and Paramount+. Additionally, President Donald Trump said last month the plan is to have around 100,000 people in attendance with a stadium in front of the White House.

“They are going to put up something that’s really amazing,” Trump said. “It’s really having to do with our great 250th birthday, where we’re having so many wonderful things. UFC is coming as you know, in front of the White House. They’re building literally a stadium, gonna have over 100,000 people.”

When it comes to the cost of the event, replacing the grass on the South Lawn will factor into the final bill. The expectation is that will cost between $700,000 and $1 million, White said.

White also told Sports Business Journal that UFC plans to cover it all, meaning it will not require taxpayer dollars. He heavily indicated it would cost much more than the Sphere did, though the exact figure was not clear until Puck’s report Tuesday.

“No, we’re eating the whole thing,” White told SBJ in January. “So yeah, it’s going to be a historic one-of-one fight, and just like I talked about with the Sphere, we’re going to make the Sphere look like f—ing ash tray money.”

It’s also still unclear who will be fighting in the event. White said via social media a matchmaking event took place earlier this month. TKO CEO Ari Emanuel also said the card would include between six and seven sites on the South Lawn of the White House, according to ESPN.