UFC’s fight card at the White House delivered a record-breaking viewership to Paramount+, according to the streaming platform, with 17 million viewers tuning in.

On Sunday, an unprecedented event took place on the South Lawn, as seven UFC fights played out to celebrate 250 years of the United States, as well as the 80th birthday of President Donald Trump.

Trump sat cageside with UFC chief Dana White, a good friend of his, as the night ended with Justin Gaethje securing an upset stoppage win over Ilia Topuria to become lightweight champion. In the co-main event, Ciryl Gane stopped Alex Pereira to win the interim heavyweight title, although the finish was controversial due to Gane’s allegedly illegal strikes.

In fact, all seven bouts ended with stoppages, as American star Sean O’Malley joined compatriots Josh Hokit and Bo Nickal in picking up victories – although Hokit and Nickal’s wins came at the expense of other US fighters.

Regardless, the event was a resounding success for Paramount+, which was the exclusive broadcaster of the fights in the US and Latin America.

While the platform is yet to announce its viewership figures for other territories, 17m viewers watched in the US and Latin America, making it Paramount+’s most-watched exclusive live event ever.

The number does not include any delayed viewership, or any viewership where more than one person watched on an account.

In January, Paramount+ took over as the UFC’s main broadcast partner, as the mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion moved from a pay-per-view model to a subscriber-based one.

“Since the beginning of the year, 16m subscriber households have watched more than 180m hours of UFC programming on Paramount+,” read a press release on Thursday, “delivering viewership more than 20x the average pay-per-view event over the past two years.

“The inaugural numbered event, UFC 324 on 24 January, broke the record at the time for the largest exclusive live event on Paramount+ with 5m average viewers and 7m households in the US and Latin America, according to Adobe Analytics.” Nielsen was also used to verify figures.

“UFC Freedom 250 [at the White House] was the 6th marquee event in a seven-year deal between UFC and Paramount+ that includes 13 Numbered Events and 30 Fight Nights in the US and Latin America for 2026, with select offerings in Australia. UFC and Paramount+ also recently announced the expansion of UFC Numbered Event Main Card rights to Canada beginning in 2027.”

Conor McGregor will make his long-awaited return to the UFC this month, as he takes onMax Holloway in a rematch 13 years in the making.

McGregor has not fought in five years, having broken his leg in his last outing in the Octagon, a 2021 loss to Dustin Poirier. As such, it’s hard to know which version of the Irishman will appear at UFC 329, where he fights Holloway in Las Vegas.

Holloway has been much more active than his old rival, who outpointed him in 2013, but the Hawaiian enters this fight on the back of a defeat – a one-sided decision against Charles Oliveira in March.

Still, the 34-year-old is a former champion like McGregor, 37, and is deemed one of the greatest featherweights of all time. He has also had success at lightweight, although he will fight McGregor at welterweight, where the Irishman has experience and Holloway does not.

In the co-main event, Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett aims to bounce back from his first UFC loss, but the Liverpudlian faces a stern test as he takes on the heavy-hitting, well-rounded Benoit Saint-Denis.

Here’s all you need to know:

When is the fight?

UFC 329 will take place on Saturday 11 July at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, US. The early prelims will begin at 10pm BST (2pm PT / 4pm CT / 5pm ET), with the regular prelims following at 12am BST (4pm PT / 6pm CT / 7pm ET) on Sunday, before the main card starts at 2am BST on Sunday (6pm PT / 8pm CT / 9pm ET on Saturday).

How can I watch it?

In the UK, the card will air live on TNT Sports and is also accessible via HBO Max, EE TV, Virgin Media, Amazon Prime Video, and Sky Sports. In the US, Paramount+ will stream the action, with CBS showing a segment of the card.

Odds

McGregor – 5/2; Holloway – 3/10

Pimblett – 13/10; Saint-Denis – 8/13

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Fight card in full

Subject to change:

Main card

Conor McGregor vs Max Holloway 2 (welterweight)

Paddy Pimblett vs Benoit Saint-Denis (lightweight)

Cory Sandhagen vs Mario Bautista (bantamweight)

Brandon Royval vs Lone’er Kavanagh (flyweight)

Gable Steveson vs Elisha Ellison (heavyweight)

Prelims

Robert Whittaker vs Nikita Krylov (light-heavyweight)

Luke Riley vs Kai Kamaka III (featherweight)

Damian Pinas vs Cesar Almeida (middleweight)

Cody Garbrandt vs Adrian Yanez (bantamweight)

Early prelims

Tracy Cortez vs Wang Cong (women’s flyweight)

Ryan Gandra vs Zachary Reese (middleweight)

Ode’ Osbourne vs Cody Durden (flyweight)

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We must be living in some kind of simulation. There is no other way to describe the staggering amount of duplicity and ignorance of people talking about the UFC White House event like it was one of the defining events in world history. And Joe Rogan is the latest to fall into line.

Going all the way back to the first inauguration of Donald Trump and the obsession over crowd sizes, there has been a decade-long effort to convince the American public that we are living in an alternate reality where the truth is whatever someone decides on any given day in spite of what facts, figures, and the most minute amount of common sense would prove otherwise.

But that ethos is also alive and well in UFC, where head honcho Dana White has made ridiculously laughable claims over the years, including the ridiculous notion that Power Slap is more popular than any other major pro sports league.

When you combine the UFC and the MAGA movement, the potential for astronomical lies and distortions is unlike anything we’ve ever seen since humans first learned how to communicate by using words.

That has almost immediately been the case this week as RNC chair Joe Gruters claimed the UFC White House event was watched by more people than the Super Bowl, the most-watched television event in the history of the United States.

Not to be outdone, podcaster and UFC analyst Joe Rogan put a number on it. He claimed 150 million people tuned in and that the number would grow by 50 million the next day.

Joe Rogan on the UFC White House card: I don’t know what the total overall views are as of now, but I know that it was like…I think it was 150M just by Monday.pic.twitter.com/bmHsZHcqCv

— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) June 18, 2026

“It is one of the most-watched sporting events in the history of the world. I don’t know what the total overall views are as of now, but I know that it was like well over, I think it was 150 million just by Monday. Just by Monday. So that’s like the night of and then people that watched the replay that weren’t there when the fight took place because they heard about it. But between then and now, now we’re dealing with Tuesday. It’s probably another 50 or 60 million people,” Rogan claimed.

This is obviously one of the most ludicrous things that has ever been spoken.

The real numbers for the UFC White House event haven’t been released, but you can reasonably gather from available data that it was watched by several million people. That’s great for the UFC! That’s great for the White House! That’s a good story to tell. There’s absolutely no need to inflate numbers to such a preposterous level that the whole thing is now seen as a total joke.

Paramount+ has 79.6 million subscribers. That means that for Rogan’s numbers to be true, every single subscriber was watching the UFC. show…. plus hosted out-of-home viewing parties… plus tens of more millions of people are either signing up for the service or watching replays.

Netflix, with 325 million subscribers, drew 27.5 million viewers for the much more popular NFL games on Christmas Day. And we’re to believe that a UFC event outdrew that by multiples with an exclusive streaming show on a much smaller platform?

You want to tell us the moon landing is fake, the earth is flat, or that ivermectin is the cure for every ailment known to mankind; that’s one thing. But don’t mess with our sports viewership numbers. That’s one alternative fact too far.

The post Joe Rogan touts bogus UFC White House viewership numbers appeared first on Awful Announcing.

Prosecutors have dismissed the child abuse charge against UFC fighter Tim Means.

On Monday, the Bernalillo County (N.M.) District Attorney's office dropped the charge after a witness did not appear in court, records confirmed after an initial report by New Mexico local news outlet KRQE.

The charge was dismissed without prejudice via nolle prosequi, meaning the DA's office could refile.

Means, 42, was arrested April 22 after police said he head-butted his 17-year-old daughter, grabbed her by the throat, threw a potato at her face, and punched her.

Means told police he only grabbed his daughter in order to stop her from attacking him. The altercation stemmed from an argument over house chores in Tijeras, N.M.

“Let it be known that there were visible hand and red marks on neck, indicating she was strangled,” the police complaint reportedly stated. “There was blood on and in her nose where she was head-butted and several red marks indicated she was hit in the face and on her cheek.”

Nicknamed "The Dirty Bird", Means (33-17-1 MMA, 15-14 UFC) is one of the longest-tenured fighters on the UFC roster. He hasn't competed since October 2024, when he lost to Court McGee in what was his 30th promotional appearance. Means is in his second stint with the promotion, one that's lasted since 2014.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC fighter has child abuse charge dismissed

UFC analyst Din Thomas finds the career of Ilia Topuria to be even more captivating now that he's no longer an undefeated UFC champion.

Topuria (17-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) saw one of the great octagon runs in history come to an end Sunday at UFC Freedom 250 when he lost the lightweight title to Justin Gaethje by four-round TKO via corner stoppage. It was a Fight of the Year candidate that entertained the masses, but was also a far cry from the contest Topuria claimed it would be.

"El Matador" confidently stated he would dispatch of Gaethje inside the opening round on the White House South Lawn. Reality was far more cruel, however, and he ended up on the wrong end up a significant upset.

"It's the one that he needed," Thomas told MMA Junkie. "He has to do some soul-searching, because the same mentality that needed to be so great – he needs that now. To feel like you're invincible and feel that you're so great. That happens when you feel that and you trust in yourself and are drinking wine the night before the fight. Now you have to go back and question yourself, and that's where the soul-searching begins.

"Now you start to have doubt. Do you trust yourself anymore and have these same beliefs? Are you as great as you thought you were? You have to go and have that same level of confidence knowing that it didn't work against a guy like Justin Gaethje, where you were a 6-1 favorite. That's a lot of soul searching. I think Ilia can do it."

So far, Topuria has been nothing short of admirable in defeat. His first public reaction started by congratulating Gaethje and accepting the outcome without any excuses, which Thomas sees as an encouraging sign about Topuria's ability to rebound from this adversity.

"I like it – there's no excuse for him. There's no controversy surrounding his loss," Thomas said. "It reminds of when Conor (McGregor) lost. That to me is a sign of true greatness. You just come out and you own it. It's not like he fought a bad fight. He was moments away from winning that fight – early. Just like we all thought it was going to be. It was playing out like we thought it would. Other than the fact defensively he was more irresponsible than I anticipated.

"He fought a great fight, he showed his toughness, and I think he's going to be better for this. This is the type of fight that he needed to really step his feet into what everyone else in MMA has to experience. ... The fact that Ilia finally got to feel that, he's going to be better from it. And I'm looking forward to seeing his next fight because of this loss. How he bounces back. He could either be better for it, or a lot worse. But my opinion is he grows from this and now he knows what it feels like to dig deep and be a dog, and it still not work out."

The rise of Topuria was a compelling story to follow. His run of knockouts against Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway, and Charles Oliveira prior to being unseated by Gaethje will stand the test of time. And he has the runway in his career to do much more.

At just 29, it's possible Topuria is even still a few years out from his fighting prime. His best days could potentially be ahead, but it's a crossroads moment, and Thomas is eager to see what unfolds after the next turn.

"That's what we're going to find out about Ilia," Thomas said. "I think his real career just started Sunday night."

To hear more from Thomas, check out his complete appearance on "The Bohnfire" podcast with MMA Junkie senior reporter Mike Bohn.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Din Thomas: Ilia Topuria's 'real career just started' with UFC loss

Islam Makhachev will defend his welterweight title for the first time against Ireland’s Ian Machado Garry at UFC 330 in August.

The formidable Makhachev (28-1, 5 KOs, 13 submissions) became just the 11th fighter in UFC history to earn two-division champion status when he dethroned Jack Della Maddalena last November on his move up a weight class.

The Russian, 34, previously held the lightweight title from late 2022 until last spring, setting the record for the most successful title-defences in UFC history (4).

He will now face the test of Machado Garry (17-1, 7 KOs, 1 submission), who has established himself in the upper echelons of the rankings at 170lbs.

Machado Garry is on a two-fight win streak after beating dangerous rising star Carlos Prates by decision, before overcoming former champion Belal Muhammad in November, a week after Makhachev became champion.

The 28-year-old has bounced back from his only career loss against Shavkat Rakhmonov which came in December 2024, who is still yet to get his long-touted shot at the title due to persistent injury problems.

Makhachev had previously suggested that there were better alternatives for a title shot, overlooking Machado Garry and hinting that Prates or Michael Morales would offer a more interesting matchup for the UFC.

But the UFC has now pulled the trigger on a first welterweight title shot for Machado Garry, headlining in Philadelphia on 30 August.

In the co-main event, women’s strawweight champion Mackenzie Dern will also make her first title defence against Gillian Robertson.

Dern (16-5, 8 submissions) outpointed Virna Jandiroba for the vacant title in October to claim UFC gold for the first time in her career.

She will be tasked with the challenge of Robertson (17-8, 3 KOs, 9 submissions), who is on a five-fight win streak and most recently beat Amanda Lemos in March.

The rest of the UFC 330 card will be announced in due course.

Joe Rogan certainly had his share of concerns about UFC Freedom 250 leading up to it, but now he's got nothing but praise for the historic event held at the White House.

Rogan, the UFC's longtime lead color commentator, was cageside on the South Lawn to call the fights this past Sunday. Prior to the event, Rogan said it was "crazy" to host a UFC event at the White House in the "middle of a f*cking war" with Iran. He was also worried about how fighters would deal with the heat and bugs on the South Lawn.

Despite day-of-the-event weather forecasts predicting "severe thunderstorms" and possible showers, turns out it was all for naught following a delay to the start of UFC Freedom 250.

"It was perfect. The temperature was perfect," Rogan said on his "Joe Rogan Experience" podcast. "I was very concerned about that. I was really concerned that these guys were gonna have to fight in the heat, but it was not an issue at all. It seemed like it was in the 70s, and the storm just miraculously passed us. … Somehow or another, the storm went around the White House. I don't know what that is. I don't know if that's science or if that's consciousness. I don't know what steered the storm or if it was just random luck. It could've been all of the above. But all of my fears of the weather getting in the way, they were null."

Rogan marveled at "the magnitude of the event," which wasn't simply about the fights on the South Lawn in front of roughly 4,500 spectators, mostly military members. There was also the Ellipse across the street from the White House, where tens of thousands of fans gathered to watch the fights on giant screens.

Rogan described what it was like to sit cageside, hear fans at the White House react to the finishes, as well as the roar of the crowd in the distance at the Ellipse.

"The magnitude of the event – I know people saw it on television, and it looked insane. But the magnitude of the event being there live … it was insane," Rogan said. "Just the magnitude of it was insane."

UFC Freedom 250 featured seven fights that all ended by knockout. Capping it off was Justin Gaethje's shocking upset of Ilia Topuria to claim the undisputed lightweight title.

Rogan doesn't see anything topping UFC Freedom 250.

"I'm a hyperbolic individual," Rogan said. "I'm always like, 'this is the greatest, this is awesome,' (but) that was the wildest experience that I've ever had in my 20-whatever years of calling combat sports. There's nothing even close. It was the greatest night of fights of all time."

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Joe Rogan reflects on 'wildest experience' calling UFC Freedom 250