🥊 TKO held a fight on the White House lawn and lost $30 million

UFC Freedom 250 was staged on the South Lawn on June 14 — Donald Trump's 80th birthday. No tickets sold, seven bouts, every single one ended by knockout, which had never happened in UFC history.

CEO Ari Emanuel called it "a roaring success." The CFO clarified: $30 million loss. No gate revenue, enormous costs. Still, 8.2 million viewers on Paramount+ — the platform's biggest live exclusive ever — and TKO beat analyst expectations for the quarter anyway.

The CFO's explanation, per Variety: they used the event to meet partners in D.C. and lock in deals through 2028. Sometimes the networking just costs that much.