CNN’s Sara Sidner Reports in “UFC at the White House” for The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper
NEW EPISODE PREMIERES SUNDAY, JUNE 7 AT 8PM ET/PT
NEW YORK, NY – (June 1, 2026) – The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper, a seven-time Emmy® Award-winning CNN Original, returns with an inside look at the decades-long relationship between the UFC and President Donald Trump. “UFC at the White House” with CNN Anchor and Senior National Correspondent Sara Sidner premieres Sunday, June 7 at 8pm ET/PT and will be available to stream the following day at CNN.com/watch and on the CNN app for CNN streaming subscribers.
As the UFC prepares for a historic fight card on the South Lawn, Sidner examines the sport’s unlikely rise from its controversial beginnings to a powerful cultural and political force. In a wide-ranging and candid interview, UFC President Dana White discusses the evolution of his relationship with Trump, the criticism surrounding the perception of UFC as a MAGA-aligned brand, and the unprecedented logistics and cost of staging a fight event at the White House. Sidner also goes inside UFC headquarters and speaks with fighters Michael Chandler and Steve Garcia as they prepare for the landmark event. Along the way, she explores how the UFC’s predominantly young male fanbase has become an increasingly powerful political demographic, and how Trump and his allies have embraced the sport and broader “manosphere” culture to connect with younger male voters.
“A sport once banned in 36 states for its no-rules brutality has morphed into the fastest-growing sport in the world over the past 20 years, and its power has seeped into politics,” said Sidner. “I wanted to dive into this world to see all its facets, from those inside the UFC machine to its critics. One thing is clear: this isn’t just a fight night on the South Lawn. It’s much bigger than that.”
The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper is a collection of unique and immersive single subject, one-hour episodes from CNN’s award-winning longform storytelling team showcasing character-driven stories, special interviews, and investigative deep dives featuring reporting from CNN’s anchors and correspondents. The series, which has been honored with three consecutive Emmy® Awards for Outstanding Recorded News Program, is executive produced by Susan Chun. Sidner has previously reported for The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper on the breakout of war with Iran, the history of political violence in America, the political and social issues playing out in San Francisco, and an in-depth portrait of a multi-racial Southern family confronting its shared history.
The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper will stream live for pay TV subscribers via CNN.com, CNN connected TV and mobile apps on Sunday, June 7. The hour will also be available beginning Monday, June 8 to CNN’s streaming subscribers and pay TV subscribers via CNN.com, CNN connected TV and mobile apps, and Cable Operator Platforms.
Past episodes of The Whole Story are available to stream on demand for CNN’s streaming subscribers and on HBO Max.
The Whole Story is also available as a CNN Podcasts showcast. Visit CNN.com/audio or listen wherever you get your podcasts.
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About CNN Originals
The CNN Originals group develops, produces and acquires original, long-form unscripted programming for CNN Worldwide. Amy Entelis, executive vice president of talent, CNN Originals and creative development, oversees the award-winning CNN Originals portfolio that includes the following premium content brands: CNN Original Series, CNN Films, CNN FlashDocs, and CNN Studios, an internal production studio which creates long-form programming for CNN’s global platforms. Since 2012, the team has overseen and executive produced more than 50 multi-part documentary series and 70 feature-length documentary films, earning more than 120 awards and 450 nominations for the cable network, including CNN Films’ first Academy Award® for Navalny. Acclaimed titles include the Peabody Award winning and 13-time Emmy® Award-winning Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown; five time Emmy® nominee, Apollo 11, directed by Todd Douglas Miller; Eva Longoria: Searching for Spain and Emmy® nominated Eva Longoria: Searching for Mexico; the Emmy® Award-nominated “Decades Series”: The Sixties, The Seventies, The Eighties, The Nineties, The 2000s, and The 2010s, executive produced by Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman; I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not directed by Emmy® winner Marina Zenovich; The Last Movie Stars, directed by Ethan Hawke about the lives and careers of actors and humanitarians Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman; Grammy® Award nominee Little Richard: I Am Everything, directed by Lisa Cortés; the Oscar®, BAFTA, PGA, and duPont-Columbia Award-winning, Navalny directed by Daniel Roher; The Many Lives of Martha Stewart; This is Life with Lisa Ling; Primetime Emmy® and duPont-Columbia Award-winning, RBG, directed by Betsy West and Julie Cohen; See It Loud: The History of Black Television, executive produced by LeBron James and Maverick Carter; Space Shuttle Columbia: The Final Flight in partnership with the BBC; the Producers Guild Award and three-time Emmy® Award-winning Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy; BAFTA nominee and Directors Guild Award winner, Three Identical Strangers, directed by Tim Wardle; and the five-time Emmy® Award-winning United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell; and the seven-time Emmy® Award-winning The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper. CNN Originals can be seen on CNN, to stream via a CNN All Access subscription, on the CNN Original Hub on HBO Max and discovery+, on the CNN Originals FAST channel, and with a pay TV subscription via CNN.com, CNN apps and cable operator platforms.
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Press Contacts
The Whole Story Press Contact
Sara Sidner Press Contact