Dana White has once again highlighted another huge clue about the promotion’s next “impossible event,” and his reaction to one specific suggestion has only made the speculation louder.

The UFC CEO revealed that the mysterious event currently under development will take place somewhere in the United States, although he did not specify where. That immediately opened the door for many to start throwing out some ambitious possibilities.

“It’s in America,” the UFC CEO said when asked where the event could take place.

When interviewer Jack McNamara mentioned Mount Rushmore as a possible location, Dana White could have easily dismissed the idea. Instead, he seemed to enjoy the idea and even started talking about his love for the area.

“Well, what would make sense is I actually love that area,” White told McNamara. “You know, I go to Sturgis as many times as I can. I couldn’t go this year, but I do love that. I love that town.”

That was enough to give the Mount Rushmore theory some significant traction. Dana White’s comments clearly do not confirm that the UFC is moving to South Dakota, but the timing and his reaction have given fans something to work with.

The idea comes after the UFC successfully pulled off two of its most ambitious events in history. The promotion held Noche UFC at the Las Vegas Sphere in 2024, and UFC Freedom 250 brought an MMA event to the White House lawn this year.

Historically, the UFC has mostly relied on massive arenas for its biggest events. UFC 129 drew 55,724 people to Toronto’s Rogers Center, while UFC 193 attracted 56,214 to Melbourne’s Etihad Stadium. UFC 243 shattered the promotion’s attendance record at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia, with 57,127 fans coming in.

However, the head honcho has certainly gotten more concerned about creating spectacles that go beyond simply packing an arena, especially after the White House event in June.

“It was an amazing, experience, this was a one-of-one,” UFC CEO Dana White said. “It will never happen again.”

But now it seems like he has changed his mind, as earlier this month he announced that Craig Borsari, UFC’s head of production, was already working on another huge project.

“I mean, there will never be anything like the White House ever again,” Dana White said on the Pat McAfee show earlier this month. “That night we already had high expectations for it, and I was blown away; it was the greatest thing I’ve ever been involved in.

“But now, my head of production, Craig Borsari, is so cocky that he absolutely killed that event. We are talking about something right now that he came up with and was his idea, and I love it. I have to do some more groundwork on it, and if I end up doing this, I’ll announce it here first.”

Now, we at least know one thing: wherever it happens, it will be in America. And if the UFC head honcho’s Mount Rushmore reaction is anything to go by, the UFC could once again be thinking far outside the box.

Dana White has a knack for picking historic locations

The Mount Rushmore theory isn’t the first time Dana White has considered putting the UFC inside one of the world’s most iconic landmarks. The UFC CEO has already discussed hosting an event at Rome’s Colosseum, with the idea even surfacing during negotiations for the proposed Elon Musk vs. Mark Zuckerberg fight.

Zuckerberg, who has trained with multiple UFC champions, most recently Merab Dvalishvili, was once truly interested in competing against the Tesla CEO when the two tech billionaires announced a potential cage fight in 2023. The matchup eventually fell apart, with Zuckerberg later saying Musk wasn’t serious about making it happen.

But the Colosseum apparently wasn’t just fantasy. Dana White revealed after the UFC White House that the iconic Italian venue had been discussed seriously during negotiations.

“It’s impossible,” White said. “Because I was negotiating the deal with Zuckerberg and Musk—that was real. I was literally in my backyard for two weeks negotiating that fight, and they wanted [it to be in] the Colosseum.

“The Colosseum wanted something like $150m to do it there, which would go into a fund that restores all the iconic places in Italy.”

That figure makes the UFC’s most recent “impossible event” even more intriguing. UFC Freedom 250 reportedly cost roughly $60 million to produce and resulted in an estimated $30 million loss for TKO Group Holdings, despite receiving approximately $30 million in sponsorships.

Dana White even admitted after the White House event that he couldn’t imagine doing another spectacle of that scale.

“I can’t afford it,” he said. “There’s no (freaking) way we can do this again. I’ll never do the Sphere again, and I’ll never do this again.”

Apparently, that feeling didn’t last very long. Craig Borsari is already conducting reconnaissance for a potentially massive UFC production. For now, it remains unclear whether this will eventually lead to a cage beneath Mount Rushmore, another great American landmark, or something no one has dreamed of yet.

Mount Rushmore as the spot is currently only a theory. However, based on Dana White’s smile, it may not be the craziest one.