NEW YORK (AP) — The WNBA is set to tip off its 30th season Friday night with excitement building around the league.
A new, transformational collective bargaining agreement has raised the maximum salary more than five times the limit in the old CBA. The Las Vegas Aces will be looking to win their fourth championship in five seasons and are riding a 16-game regular-season winning streak into their opener Saturday against Phoenix.
Caitlin Clark is healthy after playing in just 13 games last season because of a variety of injuries.
Here are a few other things to look for this season:
The new WNBA labor deal greatly increased salaries, giving the league its first million-dollar players. The salary cap jumped to $7 million in the first year, with player minimums at $270,000. The top supermax salary is $1.4 million for players who re-signed with their teams. A’ja Wilson of Las Vegas, Napheesa Collier of Minnesota and Kelsey Mitchell of Indiana are all earning the supermax this year. They are three of 31 players making $1 million or more this season.
There are five new coaches this season, with New York making the biggest move by parting with Sandy Brondello and replacing her with former Golden State Warriors assistant Chris DeMarco. He inherited a talented squad that is a year removed from its first WNBA championship.
Brondello went to the expansion Toronto Tempo. Other hires include former Cleveland Cavaliers assistant Alex Sarama leading Portland, and Sonia Raman taking over in Seattle after serving as a Liberty assistant. Longtime South Florida coach Jose Fernandez is now in charge of Dallas.
The league expanded to 15 teams this season with the addition of the Toronto Tempo and the Portland Fire. The Golden State Valkyries set a high bar for new clubs last season when they became the first expansion franchise to make the playoffs. Both of this season's new teams might be hard-pressed to duplicate that success.
Toronto has an established backcourt with Marina Mabrey and Brittney Sykes, while Portland went for a younger squad with many international players. The Fire made Iyana Martín Carrión their top pick in the draft this year, but she isn't expected to play this season while preparing for the World Cup in September with Spain.
A record 216 WNBA regular-season games and events will be available on multiple broadcast platforms throughout the year. The league will have games on ABC/ESPN, CBS, Amazon Prime Video, ION, NBC, USA Sports and NBA TV.
Clark wasn't the only significant player to miss a lot of time last season. Betnijah Laney-Hamilton was a huge part of New York's success during its run to the 2024 title. She missed last season while recovering from an acute meniscus tear in her left knee for which she had surgery in March 2025. She's back this year and raring to go.
Courtney Vandersloot tore her ACL last June and has been working her way back for Chicago. The veteran point guard is running sprints, but is still a ways away from returning.
Collier, the runner-up in MVP voting last season, will be out of the Lynx lineup until at least early June while she recovers from ankle surgery in March. Collier also had surgery on her right ankle in early January.
AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson (22) celebrates a play with teammates during the first half of a WNBA preseason basketball game against the Dallas Wings in Austin, Texas, Sunday, May 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers (5) moves the ball up court against the Las Vegas Aces during the second half of a WNBA preseason basketball game in Austin, Texas, Sunday, May 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump emerged from the Oval Office first, then fighters from around the globe followed straight into the fight cage, in part for the president’s 80th birthday celebration and to bring a sport long on the fringe of mainstream acceptance into a main event spot on the White House South Lawn.
UFC was in DC on Sunday night, a most improbable all-American setting for a fight promotion that long ago shed the “human cockfighting” tag and decades later became entwined with the emboldened right-wing “ manosphere ” that soaks up UFC fights and threw its support behind Trump in two elections.
Trump and UFC boss Dana White walked from the Oval Office to the Blue Room Balcony to chants of “USA! USA!” during the Freedom 250 fight night jacked up by a dose of high-octane patriotism on a blustery night for cage fighting.
This was no Easter Egg Roll.
Ring announcer Bruce Buffer busted out star-spangled threads for the occasion: gold stars on the outside of his suit coat and mini American flags stitched inside. UFC’s ring girls, who normally parade around the cage in skimpy outfits, were covered up for a more PG-rated fight night, dressed in more full-body outfits, some that flowed past the knee or to the ground and incorporated the American flag into the designs.
The Marine Band played from in front of the White House and Zac Brown sang the national anthem — which is never played before normal UFC fight cards because of the mix of nationalities fighting inside the Octagon. The Navy’s Blue Angels and Air Force Thunderbirds zipped overhead as part of a flyover.
The 4,000-plus fans — which included Mark Zuckerberg and David Ellison — on the South Lawn who sat under the claw, the flying saucer-type, open-air structure that housed the cage, mostly sat on their hands until the fighters used theirs to deliver furious fists and smackdowns that got them on their feet.
Bo Nickal delivered the red, white and boom when the three-time NCAA Division I wrestling champion at Penn State earned the TKO win over middleweight Kyle Daukaus and immediately bolted the Octagon for a cage-side chat with Trump. Nickal met Trump in 2019 during a ceremony at the White House for collegiate national champions.
Nickal thanked Trump after the easy night of work for bringing UFC to the White House.
“First and foremost, I have to thank President Trump for making this happen,” Nickal said inside the cage. “This is unbelievable."
The first blight of the night for Trump came when American heavyweight Derrick Lewis lost his fight after he got a personal invitation from the president. Trump proclaimed himself a fan of Lewis and his unconventional celebrations and asked White to add him to the card. Josh Hokit instead improved to 10-0 when he flattened Lewis by TKO.
More than $60 million and tens of thousands of hours of labor were poured into building the arena, according to a court filing from the National Park Service, which oversees the South Lawn, and the looming threat of rain that threw White into a tizzy each time a miserable forecast was raised never materialized over the early portions of the card.
Fight night came only hours after the United States and Iran reached an agreement to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz, offering relief to the global economy more than three months since fighting began.
UFC had seven fights with all male fighters under the Freedom 250 banner to celebrate Trump’s birthday and the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence’s signing.
Alex Pereira of Brazil will meet Ciryl Gane of France for the interim UFC heavyweight title. Spanish-Georgian lightweight champion Ilia Topuria then takes on interim champ Justin Gaethje in the main event.
The rare UFC outdoors event marked the pinnacle of the relationship between White and Trump that has yielded personal, political and financial dividends for both parties. White's first card as UFC president came in 2001 at an event held at Trump Taj Mahal.
Trump has attended four UFC cards as sitting president, walking to the cage amid rock music and patriotic chants from fans. White introduced Trump at two Republican National Conventions.
Trump got a home game for this one, making the short walk from the Oval Office to the Octagon, much like the fighters who were flanked by first responders and medal of honor recipients, among others.
Thousands more outside the White House lawn watched the fights on big screens from the nearby Ellipse, though not everyone was able to get tickets.
Even one of UFC's champions.
UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland was escorted out of the Ellipse event by a group of police officers.
U.S. Park Police said in a statement that Strickland’s presence drew enough attention from attendees that it resulted in disorder. He wasn’t cited or arrested, they said. Instead, he was taken to his hotel and told not to come back to the venue.
Once a vocal supporter of Trump, Strickland has recently said on social media that he was not invited to participate in the event at the White House because he is an outspoken critic of Israel.
White has rejected Strickland’s accusation that he was banned from UFC Freedom 250 events.
AP MMA: https://apnews.com/hub/mixed-martial-arts
Justin Gaethje does a flip as he celebrates after defeating Ilia Topuria in a lightweight title bout during UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House, Monday, June 15, 2026, in Washington. (Saul Loeb/Pool Photo via AP)
Alex Pereira, right, fights Ciryl Gane during their interim heavyweight title bout at UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House, Monday, June 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Josh Hokit lands a punch as he fights Derrick Lewis during their heavyweight bout at UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House, Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump talks with first lady Melania Trump at UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House, Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Bo Nickal, top, fights against Kyle Daukaus during their middleweight bout at UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House, Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump and Dana White, UFC president and CEO, arrive for UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House, Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
A joint forces honor guard stands during the National Anthem before UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House, Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Diego Lopes is introduced during UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House from the top of the Washington Monument on Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Washington. (Win McNamee/Pool Photo via AP)
President Donald Trump and Dana White, UFC president and CEO, arrive on the Blue Room Balcony for the National Anthem before UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House, Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump walks with UFC president and CEO Dana White through the Cross Hall of the White House before attending the UFC Freedom 250 fights on the South Lawn of the White House, Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)
Army soldiers hold a grappling demonstration during the UFC Freedom 250 Fan Fest on The Ellipse ahead of the UFC Freedom 250 fight on the South Lawn of the White House on Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Washington. (Kevin Dietsch/Pool Photo via AP)
Storm clouds move above the Washington Monument ahead of the UFC Freedom 250 fight on the South Lawn of the White House on Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Washington. (Kevin Dietsch/Pool Photo via AP)
UFC president and CEO Dana White, center, with Ilia Topuria, left, and Justin Gaethje, right, during the ceremonial UFC Freedom 250 weigh-ins on the Ellipse, Saturday, June 13, 2026, in Washington, ahead of Sunday's fight on the South Lawn of the White House. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) CORRECTION: Changes name from Joe Rogan to Dana White.
The arena for the UFC Freedom 250 fights is pictured on the South Lawn of the White House, in Washington, Saturday, June 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
UFC commentator Joe Rogan during the ceremonial UFC Freedom 250 weigh-ins on the Ellipse, Saturday, June 13, 2026, in Washington, ahead of Sunday's fight on the South Lawn of the White House. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
The arena for the UFC Freedom 250 fights is pictured on the South Lawn of the White House, in Washington, Saturday, June 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
UFC commentator Joe Rogan, center, with Ilia Topuria, left, and Justin Gaethje, right, during the ceremonial UFC Freedom 250 weigh-ins on the Ellipse, Saturday, June 13, 2026, in Washington, ahead of Sunday's fight on the South Lawn of the White House. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
