Dana White is getting some mainstream coverage as the
UFC White House event draws near.
The
UFC CEO is on the cover of the latest Time Magazine, which was
revealed on Monday along with the headline: “How Dana White took
the UFC from the fringes to the White House.”
Advertisement
TIME’s new cover: Dana White helped turn MMA
from a fringe blood sport into a global empire through the rise of
the UFC. Now, he’s bringing it to the White House’s South Lawn.“There are some nights, I’ll get up at the end and go, ‘What the
f-ck do I do for a living?’”… pic.twitter.com/qXosIuWSUW— TIME (@TIME)
May 26, 2026
Missing Out
The in-depth feature includes White’s history with
the UFC, his relationship with President Donald Trump and how the
White House card came together. One noteworthy revelation in the
piece is that White apparently wanted to book a women’s strawweight
title fight between Mackenzie
Dern and Weili Zhang
for the event. The think was that the bout would boost the
international audience, but it didn’t come to fruition.
“We did try to make a women’s fight,” White told Time. “We couldn’t
get it done.”
He also commented on the exclusion of former UFC two-division
champion Jon Jones.
“I have to build a card of people that I’m confident in and I
believe will show up to the fight,” White said. “And Jon Jones is
the least dependable guy that you could ever know.”
UFC White House takes place on June 14 and is headlined by a
lightweight championship clash between Ilia
Topuria and Justin
Gaethje. In the co-main event, Alex
Pereira and Ciryl Gane
will vie for the interim heavyweight crown. The card airs on
Paramount+ beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.