Dana White reacts to UFC White House ratings with global numbers still to come: ‘It’s the biggest thing that we’ve ever done’
Dana White was very happy with the ratings for the UFC White House card
by Damon Martin
Jun 22, 2026 at 5:00 PM GMT+2
WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 14: U.S. President Donald Trump and UFC President and CEO Dana White stand on the South Portico balcony during UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House on June 14, 2026 in Washington, DC. President Trump is hosting a series of Ultimate Fighting Championship matches on his 80th birthday, which the White House is calling “a once-in-a-generation celebration of the American fighting spirit.” (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)Getty Images
Damon Martin is a veteran journalist and insider covering combat sports since 2003.
Dana White couldn’t be happier with the results from the UFC White House card with 17 million viewers tuning into the historic event with 7 million average viewers watching in the United States on Paramount+.
But those numbers are just the tip of the iceberg with the UFC poised to reveal the full global numbers for the event, which are expected to be released in the coming days. White admitted he would love to shout to the heavens about the big wins for the UFC from the seven-fight card at the White House, but he has to stay quiet for now until the time is right to reveal the overall viewership for the event.
“I mean a third of their subscribers tuned into the [fight],” White said about the initial ratings coming from Paramount+ during the UFC Vegas 119 post-fight press conference. “It was huge and the global number’s massive. That’s going to come out next week. It’s the biggest thing that we’ve ever done. Obviously, the biggest thing ever for the sport.
“My job, I’ve been saying this since the end of the ESPN deal, my job is to deliver for Paramount and boy have we delivered in six months. I mean a lot of the stuff, we’ve just been quiet, we let them announce and then some of these markets that we’re still in are pay-per-view. You’ve got to go through all the pay-per-view stuff and everything else but the global number will probably come out next week.”
While it’s still unlikely that the UFC White House card comes close to the ratings bonanza provided by the Super Bowl, which is universally recognized as the most watched event each year, White was still quite pleased with the total viewership for the event.
As much as he loves to gloat over delivering on his promises, White admits that there are now obstacles in his way that prevent him from pounding his chest in celebration even for a monumental occasion like this.
That said, White promises that more and more information is coming out about the success of the UFC White House card but it’s just going to take a little time for that to happen.
“There’s two problems: We’re a public company and Paramount is a public company,” White said. “There’s so many massive wins from that night, but I can’t talk about any of them because they influence stock movement. So there’s so much stuff we can’t tell you.