The recent UFC Freedom 250 event held at the White House has become a focal point of online discussion, with many social media users drawing comparisons to the Super Bowl’s viewership.
This conversation gained momentum after UFC color commentator Joe Rogan stated that the event drew an audience of 150 million. This figure was subsequently echoed by Joe Gruters, the Chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC).
As this claim continues to circulate on social media, a closer examination of available viewership data is warranted to assess its accuracy.
Claim: 150 million people tuned into UFC Freedom 250
UFC Freedom 250 took place on the South Lawn of the White House on Sunday, June 14. President Donald Trump, along with first lady Melania Trump and UFC CEO Dana White, were in attendance. Paramount+ provided the live stream of the fights as part of its extensive broadcasting agreement with the UFC.
Following the event, Rogan commented on his podcast that the event had garnered an exceptionally large viewership.
"I don’t know the exact total views as of right now," Rogan stated. "But I’m confident it was well over 150 million just by Monday [June 15]."
He further elaborated, "That’s the night of, and then you have people who watched the replay later because they heard about it. It’s likely another 50 to 60 million people have watched it."
RNC chair Gruters also supported this claim during an appearance on Fox News, drawing a parallel between the event’s audience and that of the Super Bowl.
"I believe more people watched [UFC Freedom 250] than watched the Super Bowl," Gruters told Fox News.
Fact Check: The claim is unsubstantiated by available viewership data.
Current viewership data does not support the assertion that 150 million people watched UFC Freedom 250.
According to Nielsen streaming figures reported by Awful Announcing, the event averaged approximately 7 million viewers in the United States. Paramount+ announced that the broadcast set a new record as the platform’s largest exclusive livestream.
The event also reached an additional 1.2 million viewers across Latin America. Paramount+ later reported that almost 17 million individuals watched at least one minute of the event across all its coverage regions. While these numbers indicate a significant audience for the White House fight card, they fall considerably short of the 150 million viewer figure attributed to Rogan.