The UFC’s highly anticipated White House event during President Trump’s birthday celebration in June has hit a major roadblock, and it involves one of the compelling trilogy storylines in bantamweight history. Merab Dvalishvili has revealed that the promotion explicitly informed him that a 3rd fight against rival Petr Yan is not going to happen at the celebrated venue—not on account of competitive reasons, but due to Yan’s Russian nationality.
🚨Merab Dvalishvili revealed that the UFC told him a trilogy fight between him and Petr Yan is not going to occur on the White House because Petr Yan is from Russia. 🇷🇺❌
“UFC told me our fight is not going to occur on the White House on Trump’s birthday in June, because he’s Russian, and… pic.twitter.com/UV3XJVPQ0M
— MMA Pros Pick (@MMA_PROS_PICK_) January 18, 2026
“UFC told me our fight is not going to occur on the White House on Trump’s birthday in June, because he’s Russian, and that is unattainable,” Dvalishvili disclosed, spotlighting the geopolitical complications that occasionally intersect with combat sports booking.
This revelation carries massive implications for the UFC’s marquee White House card. If Russian fighters are prohibited from competing on the event, the promotion faces the lack of several elite competitors on its roster. Beyond Yan, this restriction would effectively sideline other top-tier Russian talents including middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev and welterweight champion Islam Makhachev.
The Dvalishvili-Yan trilogy represents unfinished business at its finest. Their previous encounters created one of the dramatic rivalries in recent bantamweight memory, with each fighters leaving points on the table of their competitive matchups. A 3rd installment would have been a marquee attraction for a White House event, bringing mainstream attention to the UFC’s biggest stage alongside the political grandeur of the occasion.
Nonetheless, the geopolitical landscape has complicated these plans. Diplomacy between the USA and Russia remain strained, and the White House—because the residence and workplace of the President—operates under strict protocols regarding foreign nationals, particularly those from adversarial nations.
For the UFC, this creates a logistical and promotional headache. Losing access to Yan, Chimaev, and Makhachev concurrently diminishes the cardboard’s international star power and forces the promotion to recalibrate its marketing strategy. The organization might want to pivot toward alternative headliners and compelling matchups featuring American and allied-nation fighters to take care of the event’s prestige.
While Dvalishvili’s revelation is disappointing for fans hoping to witness their trilogy conclusion on such a historic platform, it underscores the fact that even in skilled fighting, global politics plays a job in determining where and the way combat sports’ biggest moments unfold.