The UFC is scheduled to host the Freedom 250 fight card at the White House on Sunday.
UFC president Dana White’s history with Donald Trump goes back more than 20 years, and White and the UFC have become more intertwined with the Trump administration over the past decade. White was a speaker at the Republican National Conventions in 2016, 2020, and 2024. Trump and his Cabinet members have also attended UFC events over the past year. Now the UFC is hosting a major event on the White House lawn for the first time.
Given the growing political connections, how has the sport’s fan base changed since the new administration took over in 2025?
Sports Poll shows that UFC fandom was already tracking higher with Republicans prior to Trump’s return to office in January 2025, and fandom has continued to increase over the past year-plus (rising from 37% to 39%). With Democrats, fandom has tracked down (from 34% to 30%). Fandom remains highest but flat with Independents. Republicans have become more interested in sports in general since the start of 2025, but the gap in fandom between Republicans and Democrats has grown more for the UFC than other major sports.
While the general population may not have paid much attention to the UFC or its leaders’ political ties in the past, the venue construction and plans for the celebration have been major news stories for the past few weeks. This event is likely to bring unprecedented attention to the UFC this week. The potential is there to have a substantial impact on fandom with new segments of the population. We’ll be monitoring closely to see how fandom changes in the months following the White House event.
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Sports Poll by SSRS is conducted continuously throughout the year and includes a nationally representative sample of more than 24,000 Americans each year.
