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Dana White says financial hit from UFC Freedom 250 forced him to turn down Donald Trump request

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
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UFC forced to hold off on military tribute event

The UFC has had to postpone a planned event meant to pay tribute to the military, after a packed schedule and the effort behind their recent card at the White House left little room for immediate follow-up.

Bringing that night together took a lot of resources and planning from the UFC, but in the end, it paid off. Joe Rogan even called it “the greatest night in combat sports history.”

The fight card lived up to expectations too, giving fans plenty of talking points afterwards.

But before jumping into another big project, Dana White wants some time to regroup following such a demanding event.

U.S. President Donald J. Trump and UFC President and CEO Dana White enter the Octagon following the UFC lightweight championship fight during the UFC Freedom 250 event on the South Lawn at the White House.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Dana White asks Donald Trump to postpone UFC military event after UFC Freedom 250

Before the event, when Dana White spoke about the possibility of more UFC White House fights being added, he pointed to requests made by Donald Trump.

Speaking at the post-fight press conference, White addressed questions about staging a card for the military—a type of event the promotion hasn’t held in quite some time.

He explained that he had to ask Trump to pause those plans, mainly because of how much was spent on putting together UFC Freedom 250.

“The president can make a lot of things happen,” White said. “So we’re talking about doing it next year. He wanted to do it this year and I said, ‘Sir, I need a year to recover financially from the White House fight so give me a year.’”

The president has also dismissed any ideas that they might try to hold another card inside the same venue. He reiterated during fight week that he prefers hosting fights inside arenas where they can offer fans a proper live experience.

When asked if he would consider doing another one, White was quick to shut it down: “I can’t afford it. There’s no f—— way we can do this again. We’ll never do the Sphere again and we’ll never do this again.”