UFC loses $30 million on White House 'Freedom 250' event despite 34 million viewers
The UFC's White House fight event, held for Donald Trump's 80th birthday in June, lost $30 million despite drawing more than 34 million live viewers.
On June 14 this year, the UFC staged a one-off fight event titled "Freedom 250" on the lawn of the White House. The show was originally conceived as part of the celebrations for the United States' 250th anniversary, but organizers later shifted its focus to mark President Donald Trump's 80th birthday.
The event had an unusual format for a major MMA show: no tickets went on sale, and the audience consisted of 4,300 specially invited guests. Before the event, UFC said that attendees would have access to exclusive hospitality packages priced at more than $1.5 million. However, the organization did not disclose how many guests actually paid for those packages.
Putting on the White House show reportedly cost $60 million. Once revenue from sponsorship and partnership agreements was counted, UFC still ended up with a $30 million loss from the event. Despite that, the company's overall revenue for the second quarter of the year reached $535 million, showing growth.
The event also drew a massive live audience: more than 34 million people watched the broadcast. In the headlining bout, Justin Gaethje beat Ilia Topuria to win the UFC lightweight title for the first time in his career. For Topuria, it was the first defeat of his professional career.
