THE BILL AND THE BUSINESS
The White House has said the UFC is paying for the event. UFC parent company TKO Group Holdings expects to spend US$60 million on production and fighter payouts, said company president Mark Shapiro, according to Sports Business Journal. Shapiro and White have said the cost is worth the publicity.
Sponsors include Crypto.com, a cryptocurrency company that in August 2025 announced a strategic partnership with Trump Media, the company that runs the president’s social media platform, Truth Social.
The event will be broadcast by Paramount media company, which began a US$7.7 billion deal with UFC in February.
Paramount’s mega-deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery for US$110 billion is undergoing regulatory review by Trump’s administration.
In May, Trump’s financial disclosure form of thousands of recent stock trades showed a Mar 25 purchase between US$15,001 and US$50,000 in TKO Group Holdings while Trump promoted the White House event. The White House referred questions about the trades to the Trump Organisation, the president’s company.
A spokesperson for the Trump Organisation said Trump’s investment holdings are managed by independent third-party financial institutions.
“Neither President Trump, his family, nor The Trump Organisation has any role in selecting, directing, approving, influencing or soliciting specific investments,” the spokesperson said in a statement.