White House Set to Host UFC Event: What We Know So Far

The Hollywood Reporter

A rendering of what the arena will look like for UFC Freedom 250 at the White House.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is heading to the White House on Sunday, becoming the first ever professional sporting event staged at the U.S. presidential residence.

About 4,300 people are expected at the invite-only mixed martial arts event on the South Lawn, with another 85,000 expected at a nearby fan zone.

A lawsuit failed to halt the event, but hot weather and thunderstorms forecast to sweep across the city on Sunday could dampen the spectacle.

The event coincides with President Donald Trump's 80th birthday, which is also Flag Day, and is part of celebrations for America's 250th anniversary.

The seven-bout card was arranged between President Trump and his longstanding friend Dana White, UFC president.

The UFC spent about $60m (£45m) on the event, including $700,000 for grass repairs afterwards on a lawn that hosts the annual Easter Egg Roll.

The centrepiece is the "Claw" - a 92ft high metal structure that looms over the octagon and many of the seats. It weighs 600 tonnes.

A total of 14 fighters will compete in back-to-back fights, ending with the main card between Georgian-Spanish lightweight Ilia Topuria and American Justin Gaethje. The action begins at 20:00 EDT (midnight GMT). It will be screened exclusively on Paramount+, which is run by Trump ally David Ellison. Last year, UFC signed a $7.7bn deal with the Netflix rival streaming service.

The ultimate winner may be UFC - making it to the White House is a fist-pumping brand boost for a sport that was once shunned by sponsors and venues and denounced as "human cockfighting" by a US senator.

Administration officials - including Trump - have repeatedly praised the event, with the president referring to it as "the greatest show on Earth" and comparing the Claw to the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio this week lauded the UFC as the "definition of American soft diplomatic power" and announced the launch of a private-public partnership to use the UFC as a diplomatic tool.

Just days before the fight, a lawsuit was filed on behalf of two Virginia residents - a Vietnam veteran and a local civic activist - to try halt the event. The legal action, filed by the Public Integrity Project, a self-described anti-corruption law firm in Washington, argued the event was "deeply corrupt".

It cited a lack of approvals for the weigh-in at the nearby Lincoln Memorial and President Trump's close personal and financial ties with Dana White and the UFC. But on Friday, a judge denied an emergency injunction to stop the fight - a ruling welcomed by the White House, which described the lawsuit as "frivolous".

Source: BBC



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