UFC lost eye-watering amount on White House event as full finances emerge

The UFC lost roughly $30 million when it staged the 'Freedom 250' event at the White House earlier this year.

Although it was one of the most-watched mixed martial arts events ever, parent company TKO Group Holdings has revealed that it lost an enormous amount of money.

The reason for the huge loss was due to the limited ticket sales as a result of hosting it on the White House South Lawn. The event in June was held to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence, with President Donald Trump in attendance alongside Vice President JD Vance.

A specially built 4,300-seat arena was constructed at the White House, but the event was closed to the public, with most invitations only handed out to political allies, event sponsors and members of the military.

The UFC held back some extra seats that were made available to 'high rollers' willing to pay the $1.5 million asking price. MMA reporter Ariel Helwani claimed that anyone willing to pay the huge fee would be able to buy a 'Partner Investment', which would give them access to the White House event and included several other perks, including floor tickets to UFC 329.

In their latest earnings report, TKO Group Holdings revealed it cost an estimated $60 million to produce the event, but only $30 million was raised through sponsorship. The company even stated the UFC White House event was the sole reason they posted a decline in their second-quarter profit margins.

"Absent Freedom 250, margins would have increased year-over-year," the report read. "Despite a challenging global environment, TKO delivered solid results in Q2, with strong momentum heading into the back half of the year," Executive Chair and CEO Ari Emanuel said.

Even though the event was a financial loss, it was still a major success in the ratings. TKO claimed the showcase UFC event attracted 8.2 million viewers in the United States and about 34 million worldwide.

Last year, TKO signed a £5.7bn contract with Paramount for the US channel to become the new home of UFC starting in 2026 for the next seven years. As part of the deal, the White House event was shown exclusively on its subscription streaming platform Paramount+.

In the Main Event at the Freedom 250 event, Ilia Topuria fell to a shock defeat to Justin Gaethje. It marked the first defeat of Topuria's UFC career and one of the greatest shocks in the history of the sport.

Topuria started strongly and asserted his dominance during a strong second round before Gaethje unleashed a series of punishing strikes that saw the fight stopped after the fourth round.