Dana White teases new element for White House card as Zac Brown is set to feature

White revealed that UFC Freedom 250 will feature the United States national anthem, a notable departure from the organisation’s standard approach. The performance will be delivered by Zac Brown as part of the event’s theme.

The card has been designed to celebrate 250 years of American independence, which explains the decision to reintroduce an element that has long been absent from UFC events. It marks a clear shift, but for one night only.

White explained the reasoning behind avoiding anthems in the past, highlighting the promotion’s global identity. He has consistently positioned the UFC as an international product rather than one tied to a single nation.

“We don’t do the national anthem. So one of the things that drives me crazy with boxing is they have to sing two national anthems and all this stuff before the fight starts. We’re an international business,” he told Entertainment Tonight.

“I mean, we have people from everywhere, so we can end up singing two national anthems that are, you know, not even from this country. And plus the whole world’s watching us. We’re in over a billion homes worldwide. So I don’t do it.”

“This will be, you know, the first time in a very long time since like UFC double digits that we’ve done the national anthem and Zac Brown will be doing it.”

The last UFC event within double digits was UFC 99 in June 2009, headlined by Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva. That places the gap at around 17 years since the anthem was last featured, according to White.