“We know where we are”: Dana White gives major UFC White House update

The preparation for the UFC’s unprecedented plan to stage a live fight card at the White House has started. As fans anticipate more updates, Dana White says the foundation is now firmly in place. With the event set for June 14 in Washington, D.C., the UFC president has confirmed that months of behind-the-scenes work have reached a critical milestone. While fight announcements remain weeks away, the framework for the event is locked. Seating, staging, and movement paths are mapped out. White reveals that it has allowed the promotion to shift focus toward assembling what he has promised will be a historic night for combat sports.Speaking on the Spinnin Backfist MMA Show, Dana White shared that planning hurdles are no longer standing in the way.“We got all the logistics done,” White said. “All the logistics are done. We know where we are, we know how many seats, we know what the rigging is going to look like, we know what the fighter is going to walk from, we know where they're going to be stationed, we know we're going to do this. Now, after Jan. 24, we'll start getting into the card.”The event will place the Octagon on the South Lawn as part of the America250 celebrations. In a separate interview on CBS Mornings, White revealed the scale of the audience plan.“We literally just got done going through all the logistics of how to set it up there, how many people we can have,” he said. “It’s looking like we’ll have 5,000 people live on the White House lawn. It will be on the south lawn, and then across the street is the park, it’s called the Ellipse, I think, and we can have 85,000 people there.”“We’re going to have big screens, and we’re going to have a stage. We’ll have music throughout the day,” White added.The tickets are not being sold as of yet, but interest has surged across the sport. Fighters are calling for slots. Celebrities are seeking invitations. White says the demand proves the hype of the highly anticipated fight.“No, neither, because I get it, because this is like a one-of-one experience,” he said. “It's going to be incredible. And not just for the fighters and the fans, but my staff that get to work this event. I have 500 employees in Vegas. Everybody wants to work this thing.”Matchmaking will begin after late January, with February targeted as the starting point. The main card will stream exclusively on Paramount+, as White has confirmed.“It won’t be on CBS, it’ll be on Paramount+,” he said. “One hundred percent, that fight will be on Paramount+.”White has also outlined a full week of activity around the event. “We’re basically going to take over D.C. that whole week with lots of different things for fight fans,” he said.White’s recent comment has only extended the UFC’s most ambitious fight.Also Read: Floyd Mayweather's daughter Yaya Mayweather raises eyebrows with cryptic post seemingly aimed at NBA YoungBoy following their son’s birthday