The White House’s June mixed martial arts matches cost UFC’s owners about $30 million, but long-term exposure and deals could make it worth every dollar.
UFC’s parent company, TKO Group Holdings, said Monday it probably lost tens of millions staging the one-off Freedom 250 event but saw an increase in revenue for the second quarter of 2026.
UFC segment revenue rose 29%, or roughly $120 million, to $535.7 million, including an almost $65 million increase in media rights, production and content revenue and a $59 million boost in partnerships and marketing revenue.
The company attributed its increase in partnerships and marketing revenue to the UFC Freedom 250 event.
Live events and hospitality revenue, however, sank $10.7 million due to a decrease in ticket sales revenue, largely driven by the absence of ticket sales for UFC Freedom 250.
Attendance included 4,300 invite-only guests, including political allies, sponsors and military members, to celebrate 250 years of American independence alongside President Trump’s 80th birthday.
The event, held June 14 on the White House South Lawn, cost an estimated $60 million to stage and resulted in a $30 million financial loss for organizers due to the lack of public ticket sales.
Andrew Schleimer, chief financial officer of TKO, told investors that the higher-than-normal costs were “partially offset with sold-out global partnerships inventory.”
“Given the event’s profile, which as anticipated, resulted in an approximate $30 million loss, our margins at UFC as well as on a consolidated basis were meaningfully impacted,” he said in Monday’s call with analysts.
The event’s reach, however, attracted 34 million viewers worldwide, becoming one of the most-watched mixed martial arts events of all time.
“The card, the production and the storytelling were a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle on the biggest stage possible,” TKO President Mark Shapiro said in the earnings call.
He said it generated more than $1 billion in earned media value — the kind of reach he said only a handful of events in the world can command.
That figure, along with the massive global viewership, is central to the company’s argument that the short-term loss will pay off through heightened brand visibility, new sponsorship relationships and leverage in future media-rights and partnership negotiations.
TKO CEO Ari Emanuel called the event “a roaring success for our company, the UFC brand and the sport of mixed martial arts.”
TKO’s results dwarf the event’s loss, as the $30 million hit from Freedom 250 barely registers against the company’s broader quarterly performance.
The company boasted $1.547 billion in consolidated revenue, up 18% from $1.308 billion a year earlier, along with net income of $303.9 million.
Rather than tempering expectations after the Freedom 250 loss, TKO raised its outlook for the year.
The company increased its full-year revenue guidance to a range of $5.775 billion to $5.825 billion, up from its prior target of $5.675 billion to $5.775 billion. Executives pointed to strong underlying momentum — including UFC Freedom 250 and the FIFA World Cup, which TKO helped stage — as reasons for confidence in the back half of the year.
Contact the author
Please read our comment policy before commenting.