Maxx Crosby said he plans to attend the UFC fight at the White House on June 14, turning a summer event tied to America’s 250th anniversary into something personal for the Raiders defensive end. He said he has never been to the White House, and that the visit will be his first look inside a place he has only seen from afar.
“I’m excited, I like history,” Crosby said, adding that it is “incredible that we all have an opportunity to celebrate our country and just be part of a historic event.” He said the night should be treated as a national moment because “we live in the greatest country in the world and it should be celebrated.”
The White House card is scheduled for June 14 after Donald Trump floated the idea to Dana White during a live UFC show and White quickly agreed, setting the unusual plan in motion. That is why Crosby’s comments landed now: the event has a date, it has a place, and it is drawing in athletes who want to be part of a celebration that goes far beyond the Octagon.
Crosby also made clear who he will be watching closest. He said, “I think everyone knows how much I love Justin Gaethje,” and called Gaethje “one of the greatest fighters to ever do it” and “an absolute legend.” Then he added the part that matters most for fight night: “He’s also a great friend, so I’ll definitely be biased for him.”
That loyalty sits beside a broader stretch of attention around Crosby’s future, with the football world again talking about where he fits next while he keeps pointing back to the White House and, potentially, to another stage altogether. He said Dana White is “like family” and praised the UFC president for always putting on “an incredible show,” then said he has met Trump twice and that those meetings were “incredible” for him.
There is another layer to what Crosby is saying, and it reaches past June 14. When asked about flag football at the 2028 Los Angeles Games, he said, “Oh, no doubt” he would consider playing, and added, “I think it’d be incredible.” The answer leaves open the same question that hangs over the White House visit itself: whether he will simply watch a historic night, or whether his name will keep surfacing as the calendar moves toward the Olympics and the next turn in his own career.
