White House hosts first UFC event amid storm threat

The White House is set to host professional mixed martial arts for the first time Sunday, turning the South Lawn into a UFC venue for an invite-only fight card tied to America’s 250th anniversary and President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday.

The event, billed as UFC Freedom 250, is scheduled to begin with earlier bouts at 5 p.m. ET and a main card at 8 p.m. ET. It will culminate in a lightweight title fight between undefeated Georgian-Spanish fighter Ilia Topuria and American Justin Gaethje. Paramount+ will stream the main card.

CBS News reported that the South Lawn is expected to hold 5,000 guests, including members of the military, while the BBC reported about 4,300 people are expected at the invite-only event and another 85,000 at a nearby fan zone. Fans are also expected to watch from the Ellipse, and UFC has published a map of bars showing the fights.

Weather could complicate the spectacle. The National Weather Service forecast a 70% chance of rain in Washington on Sunday evening, with humidity above 70% and temperatures around 80 degrees Fahrenheit when the main action begins, the BBC reported. Forecasts also warned of possible damaging thunderstorms, lightning, downpours and wind gusts above 50 mph. A Friday news conference at the Lincoln Memorial was briefly delayed by inclement weather.

Trump, who is expected to attend along with top officials, has pushed for months to bring UFC to the White House. UFC President Dana White is a longtime friend of the president, and the seven-bout card was arranged between them, according to the BBC. The president has called the event “the greatest show on Earth” and compared the event’s central structure to the Eiffel Tower.

That structure, known as the “Claw,” is a 92-foot-high rigging system enclosing the octagon. The BBC reported it weighs 600 tonnes. Trump told reporters it will be removed after the fight. The BBC also reported UFC spent about $60 million on the event, including $700,000 for grass repairs afterward.

A last-minute legal challenge failed Friday. Two Virginia residents sued over the planned fights, arguing UFC had been granted unlawful “unfettered access to the White House… to stage a private, for-profit sports event, with all the promotional and branding opportunities that accompany such access.” The BBC identified the plaintiffs as a Vietnam veteran and a local civic activist represented by the Public Integrity Project, which argued the event was “deeply corrupt” and cited Trump’s ties to White and UFC.

A judge declined to block the event after the Justice Department argued the lawsuit came too late and that the plaintiffs could not prove harm. “It would be easy enough to simply avert their gazes for the weekend,” the department said in a filing. “Instead, they seek to enlist the power of a federal court to impose their idiosyncratic preferences on the rest of the country and ruin an event designed to celebrate the United States of America.” The White House called the lawsuit “frivolous,” according to the BBC.

The event has drawn public skepticism. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released Friday found 16% of Americans considered it appropriate to hold the UFC fight at the White House, while 46% considered it inappropriate. About one-third of Republicans approved of the plan, the BBC reported.

Topuria, nicknamed “El Matador,” enters the main event 17-0. Gaethje, known as “The Highlight,” is considered the underdog and is seeking his first undisputed UFC title. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime, very unique event,” Topuria said, according to UFC. Gaethje told reporters, “Everything is misdirection. I’m never going to show my cards before the fight.”

Other scheduled bouts include Alex Pereira vs. Ciryl Gane for an interim heavyweight title, Sean O’Malley vs. Aiemann Zahabi, Josh Hokit vs. Derrick Lewis, Maurício Ruffy vs. Michael Chandler, Bo Nickal vs. Kyle Daukaus and Diego Lopes vs. Steve Garcia.

UFC Freedom 250 is one of several events planned around the semiquincentennial. Others include the Great American State Fair and the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C., an IndyCar race around the National Mall later this summer.