Dana White says he wants eight title fights at the White House on June 14th. Eight. That’s not a typo, and it’s not the kind of thing you just throw out there unless you’re either completely out of your mind or you actually have a plan. After watching UFC 325 last weekend and seeing how the UFC has been managing its championship calendar in early 2026, Dave Simon and AJ D’Alesio are starting to think Dana might actually pull this off. This week on Ringside Report MMA, the guys broke down exactly why the UFC White House title fights could reshape how the promotion does business for the rest of the year.
🎯 Key Takeaways
- White House super card is real: Not a single UFC champion has a fight booked beyond March 2026 — Dana White’s 8-title-fight claim is plausible.
- UFC 325 disappointed: Alexander Volkanovski beat Diego Lopes by decision, but neither fighter had a scratch after 25 minutes. Dave nearly fell asleep.
- Jon Jones is done: Hip surgery news effectively ends comeback talk and removes the heavyweight title from the White House card.
- Pay-per-view is dead: Paramount’s flat-rate streaming deal means numbered events carry no more weight than Fight Nights — one mega event makes more business sense.
- Apex picks: Dave likes Farid Basharat + Kyoji Horiguchi parlay; AJ picks Vinicius Oliveira upset over Mario Bautista.
The problem is what happens after June. If you stack every champion on one card, you’re sacrificing months of programming. July, August, and September become a wasteland of Fight Night cards with nobody recognizable headlining them. That’s the trade-off, and it’s one the UFC seems willing to make now that the pay-per-view model is dead and Paramount wants one massive subscriber event rather than twelve decent ones.
Volkanovski Defends Again, But Nobody’s Excited
Alexander Volkanovski got the job done at UFC 325 in Australia. He beat Diego Lopes by decision over five rounds, and Dave was honest about the whole thing: he nearly fell asleep watching it. That’s not a shot at Volk’s legacy. The man is arguably the greatest featherweight of all time, and at 37 years old, he’s still finding ways to win. But this fight was unnecessary. We saw it nine months ago. We got the same result. Neither guy came out of 25 minutes with a scratch on them.
“I never want to see Diego Lopes fight for a title again. Ever,” Dave said. Across almost an hour of fighting, Volkanovski, over two bouts, never came close to losing. He didn’t force the issue, didn’t take risks, and walked away from a championship opportunity without making a single fan say, “I can’t wait to see that guy fight again.”
Compare that to Paddy Pimblett, who lost to Justin Gaethje the week before but delivered such an exciting performance that he’s now in the conversation for a massive fight with Conor McGregor at the White House. “If you’re going to lose in the UFC, you’d better go out exciting,” Dave argued. “Paddy Pimblett, despite the fact he lost to Justin Gaethje, may actually walk into an even more lucrative fight.”
The real test for Volkanovski comes next. The winner of Movsar Evloev versus Lerone Murphy at UFC London on March 21st should be his next challenger, and that fight will tell us whether this second championship run has real legs or whether it’s an asterisk reign made possible by Ilia Topuria’s move to 155 pounds.
🤔 Did You Know?
Alexander Volkanovski is 36 years old with a 27-4 record. He may have surpassed José Aldo as the greatest UFC featherweight of all time, but his loss to Ilia Topuria and subsequent “asterisk” title reign means the debate continues.
UFC White House Title Fights: Breaking Down All Eight Divisions
Here’s the insane part about Dana White’s claim: it’s actually plausible. Dave went division by division and found that no UFC champion has a fight scheduled for 2026 after March. Every single one of them is available. That’s unprecedented. Normally, by February, you’d have at least a few title fights booked through the summer. Instead, the UFC appears to be holding everyone back for one mega event.
“At no point in the history of the UFC have we sat here in February and looked at the list of champions and had nobody with a scheduled fight. Not a single champion,” Dave said.
At light heavyweight, Alex Pereira could face Carlos Ulberg. At middleweight, Khamzat Chimaev defending against someone like Nassourdine Imavov makes sense. Islam Makhachev could fight Kamaru Usman at lightweight, and Ilia Topuria versus Justin Gaethje for the featherweight title is practically begging to be made. That’s four champions right there, and the card is already better than anything we’ve seen in years.
Add Joshua Van defending the flyweight title against Tatsuro Taira, Petr Yan versus Marab Dvalishvili or Sean O’Malley for the bantamweight belt, Mackenzie Dern defending at strawweight, and Valentina Shevchenko at flyweight, and you’re looking at the most stacked card in UFC history. The only division that probably sits out is heavyweight, because Tom Aspinall’s timeline is uncertain, and Jon Jones just announced he needs hip surgery, which effectively ends any comeback talk.
The Death of Pay-Per-View Changes Everything
Dave made a point that explains everything happening with the UFC’s scheduling right now. The numbered events don’t mean anything anymore. UFC 325, UFC 326 — those numbers carry the same weight as a random Fight Night because Paramount is paying a flat monthly rate. They don’t care about individual event buyrates. They care about subscribers.
“How do you get a subscriber? Well, you get them to sign up, and hopefully they just stay with you. And you get more people to sign up for a big event,” Dave explained. It’s the same reason Netflix pays Jake Paul enormous money for boxing events. One big moment gets people to sign up, and then hopefully they stick around.
AJ compared it to WrestleMania, which is actually a useful comparison, but Dave pushed back on it. In wrestling, your talent works year-round. They just all have one big show once a year. “But for the UFC, it’s like, well, if they fight that one time, it’s probably the last time you see them all year,” Dave countered. If you’re fighting in June, you probably don’t fight again until maybe the end of the year. You put eight champions on the same schedule, and July and August become incredibly thin.
Reality Check: Nick Diaz Wants Islam or Khamzat
The Reality: Nick Diaz saying he wants to fight Islam Makhachev or Khamzat Chimaev at the White House isn’t entertaining speculation — it’s a reminder that some fighters don’t know when the conversation has moved past them. Dave shut this down immediately: the last time Nick Diaz fought, it was sad. Putting him in there with either of those guys in 2026 would be irresponsible matchmaking disguised as spectacle. The White House card needs to be legitimately great, not a circus act.
AJ floated the idea of Brock Lesnar coming back, too, which Dave dismissed just as quickly. “Remember what Overeem did to Brock? Ciryl Gane would beat the shit out of Brock,” Dave said. These are fun bar conversations, but the UFC needs to resist the temptation to fill the UFC White House title fights card with nostalgia acts when they have the deepest roster in the history of the sport ready to compete at the highest level.
“You’re giving me Brock Lesnar and Nick Diaz. I’m trying to actually go through the divisions and see who’s going to fight,” Dave told AJ. “You’re giving me bullshit.”
UFC Apex Card Preview: Bautista vs. Oliveira Headlines
This weekend, the UFC returns to the Apex with a card headlined by Mario Bautista versus Vinicius Oliveira at bantamweight. Bautista comes in as a -160 favourite after a loss to Umar Nurmagomedov, while Oliveira is a +125 underdog. It’s not the most star-studded main event, but the undercard has some solid action.
Kyoji Horiguchi takes on Amir Albazi in a quality flyweight matchup. Jailton Almeida faces Rizvan Kuniev at heavyweight. Quebec’s Marc-André Barriault, the Power Bar, fights Michał Oleksiejczuk in a middleweight scrap. And keep an eye on Farid Basharat, the undefeated 28-year-old prospect at 14-0, who takes on Jean Matsumoto at 135 pounds.
💡 Betting Corner
Dave’s Parlay: Farid Basharat + Kyoji Horiguchi (both heavy favourites). $20 → $34.38. Conservative but realistic for a thin Apex card.
AJ’s Parlay (3-fight): Vinicius Oliveira over Bautista (UPSET +125), Horiguchi over Albazi, Jailton Almeida over Kuniev. AJ’s riding a hot streak after hitting a 6-fight parlay last week.
White House Logistics: 5,000 Seats and 80,000 on the Ellipse
AJ shared some details about the White House event logistics. The UFC plans to build a 5,000-seat stadium on the South Lawn, with Dana White footing the bill at roughly $700,000. Beyond the lawn, the Ellipse Park nearby could hold approximately 80,000 fans watching on screens. The UFC is covering all costs — not taxpayers.
When this event was first announced, everyone assumed it was typical Trump hyperbole. Now it’s looking very real, and the card could be the most significant event in UFC history. Dave summed it up: “It’s a must-watch event in 2026. Feels unreal. It’s a year that feels like we’re not even in reality anymore.”
Wrestling Corner: Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk at WrestleMania
Before signing off, Dave dropped some WWE news for tomorrow’s Wrestling Uncensored show. The main event of WrestleMania Night Two is officially Roman Reigns versus CM Punk for the World Championship. Plus, MJF and Seth Rollins are now paired together, which is a combination nobody saw coming. Full breakdown on Wrestling Uncensored Friday at 10 PM Eastern.
UFC White House Title Fights FAQs
When is the UFC White House event?
The UFC White House event is reportedly scheduled for June 14, 2026, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C.
How many title fights will be at the UFC White House?
Dana White has claimed there could be eight or nine title fights on the card. Based on champion availability, Dave Simon confirmed this is plausible since no UFC champion currently has a fight scheduled beyond March 2026.
Who won the UFC 325 main event?
Alexander Volkanovski defeated Diego Lopes by unanimous decision at UFC 325 in Australia, successfully defending his featherweight championship for the second time in his current reign.
Who is fighting in the UFC Apex main event this weekend?
Mario Bautista (-160 favourite) takes on Vinicius Oliveira (+125 underdog) in a bantamweight main event at the UFC Apex.
Will Jon Jones fight at the UFC White House?
Unlikely. Jon Jones reportedly needs hip surgery, which would effectively prevent him from competing. This removes the possibility of a heavyweight title fight at the White House event.
Who fights for the featherweight title next after UFC 325?
The winner of Movsar Evloev versus Lerone Murphy at UFC London on March 21st is expected to be Alexander Volkanovski’s next challenger.
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