Dana White claimed the UFC White House card is non-political, but one quick response to Donald Trump’s request is changing that narrative

There’s still a while left until the UFC Freedom 250 takes place. But what sounds like a usual fight-out has ended up gaining loads of hype because the event will take place at the White House on President Donald Trump’s birthday. With that in mind, it’s quite obvious that fans will think of it as an event tied to politics, but the UFC president Dana White publicly cleared that it’s not intended to be a political event.​

He might have said it, but some chain of events before the UFC Freedom 250 says otherwise. Apart from Colby Covington being brutally snubbed from the event despite being a vocal Trump supporter, another moment from UFC 327 may sound “political” to some. As per Fox News, Trump appeared as a special guest on UFC 327 in Miami. Then, a request from the president for the fighter Derrick Lewis to be added to the White House led Dana to quickly call the athlete and invite him to the Freedom 250.

Dana’s exact words while telling this story were, “About an hour ago, the president leans over to me and says, ‘Why is Derrick Lewis not on the White House card?’ and I said, ‘Hold on, Mr. President.’ I stepped away and called Derrick Lewis and said, ‘Derrick, the president just asked why you’re not on the card. Do you want to fight on the White House card?’ He said, ‘Of course.’” These words suggest that a fighter who was not initially invited to the event will compete because President Donald Trump mentioned him.

Does it sound non-political? You be the judge

Judging from White’s story, Trump doesn’t seem to directly make a request to put Derrick on the Freedom 250. The president only seemed to question the athlete’s absence from the event, after which Dana took swift action and called him. For those wondering why he specifically mentioned Derrick Lewis, the fighter is known as one of Trump’s favorites. As a result, Dana White might have called him directly even though the president didn’t directly say he should.

Returning to the fighter, Dana has officially announced that Derrick will face Josh Hokit on the UFC Freedom 250 card at the White House on June 14, 2026. Before Trump’s request, the fighter wasn’t considered as the original announcement seemed to focus more on title fights and “marquee” matchups. This explains Lewis’ initial absence, as he’s a veteran whose resume shows both big wins and big losses.

Now, his being added to the event at Trump’s request could drag it further into the political side, despite Dana claiming that it’s not. Regardless, it could be one of the noteworthy achievements for this fighter, as he’ll be fighting on a stage that might get more attention than a regular showdown he’s been part of before. Derrick wasn’t the only one to go into the headlines due to Donald Trump at UFC 327; another fighter also came under the spotlight.

Paulo Costa, after his UFC 327 win, jumped outside the cage to thank Trump for what he’s doing. This praise from the athlete made Donald Trump say, “You’re a beautiful guy. You could be a model, you look so good.”

This positive exchange also made the headlines, along with the Derrick Lewis White House card announcement, making UFC 327 one of the most talked-about sporting events recently. Now, all eyes are on the Freedom 250, as the hype around it has drawn considerable attention.