Dana White Looking at Conor McGregor for White House Event; The Odds Favor Poirier

• Dana White is extremely confident of a UFC event being held at the White House on July 4, 2025.
• He says he trusts Conor McGregor to headline the card, but not Jon Jones.
• The odds are favoring Dustin Poirier, Max Holloway, and Justin Gaethje, among others.

Dana White says he’s confident about having Conor McGregor feature in the UFC event planned for the White House on July 4, 2025. However, the UFC CEO isn’t so sure about Jon Jones.

The odds have McGregor and Jones among the candidates, but Dustin Poirier, Max Holloway, and Justin Gaethje are the favorites to appear on the White House South Lawn.

White Says McGregor and Jones Back in Drug Testing Pool

White has had a big week as the UFC signed a massive $7.7 billion deal with Paramount on Wednesday. He was interviewed on the Jim Rome Show on Thursday, July 15, as the company prepares for UFC 319 on Saturday in Chicago. He made the comments about who he thinks will be at the White House for next year’s July 4 show.

The UFC CEO did say that McGregor and Jones were both in the drug-testing pool, which means they’re planning to fight. But it is interesting that White said:

“I trust Conor. Conor McGregor has never, ever—unless he is seriously injured—this guy has always delivered. Jon, I’m a little more skeptical about.”

McGregor hasn’t fought in the UFC since losing to Dustin Poirier for the second straight fight in July 2021, however, it was due to a broken leg suffered in the tilt. There have been various reports of McGregor’s return, and footage of the former featherweight and lightweight champion in training. However, there have also been legal issues for McGregor, who is still the biggest draw in the UFC.

White also said he was unsure about Jones, who vacated the heavyweight title to retire in June 2025. The former heavyweight and light-heavyweight champ fought most recently in November 2024, when he knocked out fellow former champ Stipe Miocic.

Either fighter would be a big draw. However, neither McGregor or Jones are getting the status of favorite at the online bookies.

Poirier, Holloway, Gaethje Headline Odds for White House UFC Fighters

One of the top UFC betting sites out there, BetOnline, has the recently-retired Dustin Poirier as the favorite to be involved in the main event of the White House card. The man he lost to in his retirement fight, Max Holloway, sits at +300, just behind Poirier at +250. Justin Gaethje is next at +350.

All three of these fighters have history as Poirier is 2-1 against Holloway, and 1-1 against Gaethje. Meanwhile, Holloway and Gaethje had a classic fight at UFC 300 in April 2024, where they swung for the fences in the last ten seconds, and Holloway scored a last-second knockout win.

Jones is at +550, while McGregor is priced at +750, but you can understand why White will wait on McGregor, as he has done in the past. Out of the top ten biggest UFC pay-per-view cards in history, McGregor has headlined eight of them. Thanks to the new Paramount deal, the White House card will be on streaming, and White has talked about even showing the card on CBS.

White also said that he wouldn’t even think about the White House card until January. But fighters have already started angling for a spot on the card, and we should have an answer early next year!