The Ultimate Fighting Championship event at the White House on Sunday offers President Trump a unique birthday celebration as he turns 80, cheering on fighters inside the specially constructed Claw on the South Lawn.
One of the event’s VIP attendees will be David Ellison, the technology heir and Paramount Skydance chief executive, who received a token of appreciation from the Trump administration Friday.
After months of strategic outreach, Paramount announced Friday that the Justice Department would not challenge its $111 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, removing a major obstacle to the deal’s closure.
Once finalized, the merger will elevate Ellison, 43, to the upper echelons of media ownership, giving him control over two Hollywood studios, two streaming platforms—including HBO Max—and flagship news outlets CBS News and CNN.
Ellison also owns the exclusive broadcast rights to the UFC, a sport championed by Trump. Last year he paid $7.7 billion for those rights. The White‑House fight slated for 8 p.m. Sunday—featuring seven marquee bouts—will be streamed on Paramount+, the platform Ellison owns.
A Paramount spokesperson declined to comment.
This will not be the first time Trump and Ellison share a UFC event; the pair sat together at an octagon‑shaped arena in Miami last year.
The merger has drawn criticism from Democratic lawmakers and industry leaders concerned it could curtail competition and limit consumer choice in Hollywood.
Ellison and his father, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, have cultivated ties with Trump. Larry Ellison appeared in the Oval Office and spoke with the president while Paramount pursued its Warner Bros. bid.
During the regulatory review, Ellison hosted a private dinner for Trump in April at the U.S. Institute of Peace, where the president sat with Ellison and CBS News editor‑in‑chief Bari Weiss.
Senior cabinet officials—including Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio—attended the dinner.
Paramount plans to host a brunch for its officials at Washington’s exclusive Ned’s Club before the fight, according to the newsletter Status.
Last August, Ellison told The New York Times that he and Paramount were “thrilled” about acquiring UFC broadcast rights, calling the sport a “unicorn asset.”
When asked about Trump’s interest in hosting a UFC event at the White House, Ellison declined to comment.