Dana White Shoots Down Mount Rushmore UFC Rumors, Teases What's Next

The Rumor Mill Strikes Again

Dana White is used to putting out fires he didn't start. This time it's Mount Rushmore. After UFC pulled off spectacle events at the Sphere in 2024 and the White House lawn earlier this year, fans and media started connecting dots that led straight to South Dakota's granite presidents. The theory made sense on paper — patriotic venue, iconic backdrop, the kind of only-UFC-could-pull-this-off moment White loves to manufacture.

But in a new sit-down with Barstool Sports, White killed the rumor outright. "It is not going to be Mount Rushmore," he said flatly, clearly annoyed at how quickly a passing comment turns into a full-blown storyline.

How the Rumor Actually Started

White explained the mechanics of how this stuff spirals: a reporter floats a hypothetical, White reacts (in this case, apparently just noting he liked the area), and within hours it's treated as confirmed fact across MMA social media. He didn't hold back his frustration, comparing it to the constant guessing game around potential fight matchups.

"No matter what I say, I'll wake up tomorrow and there'll be 250,000 accounts on Instagram saying Dana White said this guy's fighting that guy," he said. "No, I didn't say that."

It's a fair point — White does a staggering amount of media, and offhand comments get flattened into headlines constantly. This time, the headline just happened to be wrong.

Why Mount Rushmore Was Never Realistic

Beyond the denial, there are practical reasons a live event at a national memorial was always a long shot. Mount Rushmore is federally protected land with strict permitting, limited infrastructure for a crowd-heavy production, and zero precedent for hosting anything like a UFC card. The White House event worked because it was a controlled, invitation-style spectacle on a property built for staged occasions. Mount Rushmore is a completely different logistical animal — no arena, no crowd control setup, no built-in production capacity.

So What's Actually Coming?

White didn't shut the door on more big swings. He's built his recent playbook around unconventional venues that generate headlines on their own, separate from the fight card itself. The Sphere event proved UFC could turn a non-traditional space into a global talking point, and the White House show doubled down on that strategy with a political and patriotic angle.

The pattern suggests UFC's "next big thing" will likely follow the same formula: pick a location that's culturally significant, lean into spectacle over substance, and let the venue do half the marketing. Mount Rushmore just isn't going to be it — at least not according to the man who'd actually have to make it happen.

For now, fans will have to wait for an official announcement rather than trust the next viral guess.