Justin Gaethje made a return visit to the White House, where he was hosted by President Trump in the Oval Office. This visit follows Gaethje's recent lightweight title victory, which earned him multiple awards in the 2026 mid-year MMA awards. It's always cool to see fighters get recognized at such a high level, and Gaethje's accomplishments are certainly deserving of the attention.
Sources (12)
We summarise the day's news in our own words. Full credit to the outlets below for the original reporting, click through to read their work.
- MMAMania’s 2026 mid-year awards: Fight of the year (Yahoo Sports)
- Max Holloway Gets Custom Dodge Charger Delivered Before UFC 329 Conor McGregor Rematch And Calls It ‘Kind Of A Big Deal’ (MiddleEasy)
- Fans concerned for Benoit Saint Denis over theory he’s entering Paddy Pimblett clash compromised (Bloody Elbow)
- Undefeated Polish prospect Damian Rzepecki on his UFC debut against Magomed “Chanko” Zaynukov (John Pork): “It’s a big fight, he’s famous because of his nickname and because he’s part of Team Makhachev, and I’m a friend of Ilia Topuria” (r/MMA)
- Justin Gaethje returns to the White House, the rest of the MMA community celebrates the Fourth of July (MMA Fighting)
- Max Holloway will try to convince Dana White on ‘perfect world’ Conor McGregor trilogy pitch after UFC 329 (Bloody Elbow)
- Yoel Romero's UFC finishes (r/MMA)
- 3 Massive Reasons To Watch The Inner Circle 21 On July 10 (ONE Championship)
- President Trumps Hosts Gaethje In Oval Office After White House Win (Yahoo Sports)
- The Damian Pinas Meal Drops at Wendy’s Aruba, The First Fighter Meal Ever. (r/MMA)
- Former UFC fighter admits he wasn’t the same after Fight of the Night loss: ‘My head was destroyed’ (Bloody Elbow)
- MMA 2026 midyear awards: Which event bested UFC Fr... (ESPN MMA)
Split from that day's roundup, so the sources listed are the full set behind the whole edition rather than this story alone.
This story ran in the July 5, 2026 edition of the daily show.