See the celebrities and business execs who showed up to the UFC fight at the White House

Mon, 06/15/2026 - 16:51

Tech Insider

UFC cage with crowd and fireworks at the White House — The White House hosted a UFC fight on Trump's 80th birthday.
Bloomberg via Getty Images

The White House hosted a UFC fight, branded "UFC Freedom 250," on the South Lawn on Sunday.
The event coincided with President Donald Trump's 80th birthday.
Trump cabinet and family members were joined by Mark Zuckerberg, Joe Rogan, and others.

The UFC fight that President Donald Trump had promised would be "the greatest show on Earth" finally took over the White House's South Lawn on Sunday night.

UFC Freedom 250, a seven-bout event, was attended by Trump, who also turned 80 on Sunday, along with members of the Trump family, cabinet officials, tech leaders, business executives, and a handful of celebrities.

JD Vance, Marco Rubio, and Pete Hegseth were there, as well as other Republican leaders like Mike Johnson and John Thune.

Some business executives and celebrities showed up, too. Among those in attendance was David Ellison, the CEO of Paramount Skydance, which owns exclusive streaming rights to UFC, and which was cleared by the US Department of Justice to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery just days before the White House event.

The New York Times reported that New York Knicks owner Jim Dolan was also spotted at the event, less than 24 hours after his franchise won its first NBA championship since 1973.

See other big names in attendance.

Mark Zuckerberg

The Meta CEO was seen speaking with Trump during a break at the event.

In late 2024, Meta donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration fund, and Zuckerberg later attended the ceremony alongside other tech CEOs and billionaires. Last year, he sat beside Trump at a White House dinner for tech leaders.

Joe Rogan

Rogan, a longtime UFC interviewer and color commentator, was part of the broadcast event.

Rogan interviewed Trump on his podcast ahead of the 2024 election, but has levied criticism against the president as recently as last Friday, speaking of his frustration over the Epstein files and the Iran war, The Hill reported. Rogan previously criticized the idea of an outdoor UFC fight, but has since praised the event.

Ari Emanuel

Emanuel is the CEO of TKO Group Holdings, which owns both the WWE and UFC. Emanuel and Trump have had a longtime professional relationship.

Shane Gillis

The comedian, whose impression of the president is well-known, and Trump previously met at the Super Bowl LIX. The president later said, "I like him," The New York Post reported, citing The Spectator.

Zac Brown

The singer performed the national anthem at the fight, drawing criticism from some fans. Brown said that he sang at the event because of "patriotism, not politics," USA Today reported.

Kris Marszalek

Marszalek co-founded Crypto.com, which is engaged in a "strategic partnership" with Trump Media, per the company. Crypto.com co-sponsored the UFC fight.

Tony Hinchcliffe

Hinchcliffe is perhaps best known for his comedy performance at a 2024 Trump rally in which he called Puerto Rico a "floating island of garbage," among other racial and ethnic remarks, the BBC reported.

Hinchcliffe later defended his comments, saying his critics had "no sense of humor."

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See the celebrities and business execs who showed up to the UFC fight at the Wh…