Once MMA was banned in 36 states; now it's getting a White House stage - ESPN

Mixed Martial Arts, and, by proxy, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, was once banned in 36 states and on pay-per-view (which did allow adult films). In the early days, about the only way to watch was to wait for your local video store to get a copy of the most recent card.

Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona (who later became a fan) dubbed it «human cockfighting.» He wasn't completely wrong. There were so few rules at the time that fighters at UFC 4 had to make a gentlemen's agreement to not pull hair.

Even into the 2000s, the sport — and few even considered it an actual sport — was going nowhere. Little credibility. Limited visibility. An uncertain future.

Flash forward to July 4, 2026, when the UFC plans to set up an Octagon on the south lawn of the White House and stage a full fight card, likely nationally broadcast, as part of the 250th anniversary celebration of the country's founding.

Only in America, as the adage goes.

«If I said something like this would happen 20 years ago, people would have said: This guy is out of his mind,» UFC chief executive Dana White told ESPN.

White is the ultimate MMA believer and one of the greatest promoters/hype men in history. Neither humility nor looking backward pays the bills. Yet the idea of his sport and his company being in such a spotlight feels different. It is almost unfathomable.

He thinks about the early fans who never wavered and spread the word. Or the fighters and trainers who found a passion. Or just anyone, from local gym owners to minor sponsors, who helped push MMA into the mainstream. It was one step and then another.

«The fact that a combat sport is the one that was picked to be played at the White House, it is just a badge of honor,» White said.

He knows