The UFC is adding some serious star power to its next mega event, which will take place in Washington, D.C., in June and culminate with a White House event on June 14.
Hollywood Reporter I’ve learned that the Zac Brown Band will be headlining what the MMA promotion is calling the UFC Freedom 250 Fan Fest on Saturday, June 13. The fan festival will be held at The Ellipse in Washington, D.C., just south of the White House, on the 13th and 14th.
The Zac Brown Band has been on a tear in recent months, coming off an eight-night tour at Sphere in Las Vegas and releasing Love and fear album in December. The country rock band was also among the headliners at last month’s March Madness music festival, which was also at the intersection of music and sports.
In addition to live music, the free event (interested attendees can register to try for tickets) will include ceremonial weigh-ins, meet-and-greets, on-stage entertainment, interactive experiences, and appearances by UFC athletes and other celebrities. On Sunday, it will also include a live viewing party of the fights being held on the nearby White House South Lawn.
President Trump first revealed plans to host a UFC fight at the White House last summer, though the specific details took months to iron out. TKO Group Holdings, the UFC’s parent company, is footing the bill for the event, telling investors in February that it could lose $30 million on it, even after offsetting costs through sponsorships (the fan fest, for example, is “fueled by Monster Energy”).
“I want to be clear about something: We will not profit from the White House event independently. We will not make money on America’s 250th anniversary,” TKO President and COO Mark Shapiro said at the time. “This is a long-term investment. It’s about earned media.
“It’s about sampling, new fans, casual viewers, and the on-stage spectacle that will ultimately expand our audience, viewership, and success on Paramount+,” he added. “We view this once-in-a-lifetime milestone as a strategic investment to boost Paramount+ subscriber acquisition, massive audience sampling for the UFC overall, and Super Bowl-like earned media worldwide.”
UFC CEO Dana White is close to President Trump, and last month, the mixed martial arts promotion signed on to train FBI agents at an event at Quantico.
