Dana White 'can't risk' putting Jon Jones on the UFC White House event

UFC CEO Dana White and the fight promotion's staff are in the early stages of planning the historic UFC event on the White House grounds expected to take place on July 4th, 2026. 

While White can't predict what the landscape of the sport will be like next July to have any idea what fighters will be on the fight card, he knows who will not be fighting at the event. During the UFC 318 Post-Fight Press Conference in New Orleans last Saturday, White said that he 'can't risk' putting former two-division UFC champion Jon Jones on the fight card.

"That fight (card) is a year away. I'm not even thinking about anything right now. The landscape will change so much by next Fourth of July. Who knows what's going to happen. Who knows who's going to be on the card, what the main event will be, or who will hold all the titles. Everything could be completely different. It's not even worth thinking about it right now," White said.

"I have other problems. I'm dealing with the logistics and all the things on figuring out how to make this thing happen, how do we want to do it. I'm going to fly out there in about ten days, two weeks. We'll have all the renderings done, sit down with him (President Trump) and go through the renderings and see what he wants to do and what he doesn't want to do," White continued.

White has promised the best fight card in the promotion's history but the event will not feature arguably the greatest fighter, Jon Jones. 

Jones announced his retirement in late June only to come out of retirement two weeks later after President Trump announced the plans to host a UFC event at the White House. Jones hoped to be part of the historic event but White closed the door on the possibility.    

"You know how I felt about him (Jones). I can't risk putting him in big positions, in a big spot and have something go wrong," said White. "Especially the White House card."