Donald Trump wants Ivanka to coordinate White House UFC fight as Dana White says she has contacted him

The event will mark the first UFC fight at the White House, scheduled for July 4, 2026, as part of America’s 250th birthday celebrations
PUBLISHED AUG 14, 2025
Ivanka Trump is set to help plan the first-ever UFC fight at the White House, scheduled for July 4, 2026 (Getty Images, Instagram/@danawhite)
Ivanka Trump is set to help plan the first-ever UFC fight at the White House, scheduled for July 4, 2026 (Getty Images, Instagram/@danawhite)

WASHINGTON DC: President Donald Trump has given his daughter Ivanka Trump an unexpected role in his second administration, planning a historic Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event on White House grounds.

The event will mark the first UFC fight ever hosted at the White House and is scheduled for July 4, 2026, as part of America’s 250th birthday celebrations.

Ivanka Trump returns to high-profile role after years away from politics

Ivanka Trump, 43, previously served as a senior adviser in her father’s first term but stepped away from politics after 2020.

UFC CEO Dana White said Trump personally wanted her to take charge of the event.

"When [Trump] called me and asked me to do it, he said, 'I want Ivanka in the middle of this,'" White said on 'CBS Mornings'.



 

He added, "So Ivanka reached out to me, and she and I started talking about the possibilities, where it would be and, you know, I put together all the renderings."

2005: Ivanka Trump during The Apprentice Finale After party at Planet Hollywood, New York, NY in New York, New York, United States. (Photo by M. Von Holden/FilmMagic)
Ivanka Trump during 'The Apprentice Finale' After party at Planet Hollywood, New York, NY in New York, New York, United States (M Von Holden/FilmMagic)

Dana White says UFC at White House is set for July 4, 2026

President Donald Trump, a longtime UFC fan who has attended fights cage-side with Ivanka, has been floating the White House fight idea for months.

White confirmed it is “definitely going to happen,” and CBS News reported that a White House source backed the event plans.

He said the date was chosen to launch the nation’s semiquincentennial celebrations. White’s popularity among young male voters has been credited by some with helping Trump secure his 2024 win.

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO - FEBRUARY 20: Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White greets President Donald Trump on stage during a Keep America Great rally on February 20, 2020 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Cory Gardner, a first-term Republican up for reelection this year, joined Trump at the rally. (Photo by Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images)
Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White greets President Donald Trump on stage during a Keep America Great rally on February 20, 2020 in Colorado Springs, Colorado (Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images)

Ivanka’s potential involvement would mark her return to public life after focusing on her family for the past three years.

She and her husband Jared Kushner, both central to Trump’s 2016 campaign, served as advisers during his first term.

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 02: Jared Kushner and wife  Ivanka Trump attend the
Jared Kushner and wife Ivanka Trump attend the  'Manus x Machina: Fashion In An Age Of Technology' Costume Institute Gala at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 2, 2016 in New York City (Mike Coppola/Getty Images for People.com) 

Ivanka Trump previously rejected politics over family 

Following the 2020 election and the Capitol Hill riots, Ivanka Trump distanced herself from politics, declining to join her father’s 2024 campaign.

In a 2022 Instagram post, she wrote, “I love my father very much. This time around, I am choosing to prioritize my young children and the private life we are creating as a family. I do not plan to be involved in politics.”


 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Ivanka Trump (@ivankatrump)


 

She told the 'Him & Her' podcast before Trump’s January inauguration, “I love policy and impact. I hate politics. And unfortunately, the two are not separable. I know the cost, and it’s a price that I’m not willing to make my kids bear."


 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by HIM & HER SHOW (@tscpodcast)


 

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