UFC Event at the White House
WASHINGTON — On Sunday night, thousands of UFC fans, protesters, and supporters of President Trump gathered outside the White House as preparations began for the president’s 80th birthday celebration, featuring a seven-fight card on the South Lawn.
President Trump, along with about 4,000 ticketed guests, will be seated in the custom-built “Claw,” a large structure of steel, lights, and cameras that overshadows the White House. Meanwhile, up to 120,000 guests can watch from the Ellipse, just south of the main event area.
Fans enthusiastically chanted “USA! USA!” as they rushed to join the viewing party. As the event’s start time of 8 p.m. approached, some demonstrators made a spectacle by drawing attention to the president’s birthday with less-than-flattering wishes.
A federal judge ruled on Friday that the event could go ahead, dismissing the final legal challenge. However, with the forecast predicting rain and thunderstorms in the area, there remains a possibility that the weather could disrupt the festivities.
Dubbed “UFC Freedom 250” to honor the upcoming 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the event will be available for streaming on Paramount+. Still, many dedicated fans felt that wasn’t sufficient.
Kellen Drury, 27, from Altoona, Pennsylvania, shared, “We left at about 2 a.m., and none of us could sleep because we were so focused on this.” Although he couldn’t snag tickets for either the viewing party or the main event, he felt it was worthwhile just to be part of the atmosphere. “It’s like being outside the Super Bowl,” he said.
Some attendees expressed mixed feelings about the event. Darius Boone, 43, a UFC fan from Maryland, noted that while he tried to convince his wife to join him, she wasn’t interested in mingling with passionate fans of the sport or politically charged crowds. “I’m just here because I’m a fan, and nothing like this has ever happened before,” Boone remarked.
Another fan, Nolan Haugen, 34, from Fargo, North Dakota, conveyed a similar sentiment: “How often do you see something so unique, especially when it’s also a bit ridiculous?” He acknowledged being a fan of Trump, though his enthusiasm for UFC is tempered. “Happy birthday, President Trump!” he added.
However, not everyone was enthusiastic about the event. Nadia Rahman, a 36-year-old local, criticized it as being “completely in bad taste,” adding that it starkly reflects Trump’s character in a way that, while comical, is troubling. “It’s like Trump’s ballroom,” she said.
The National Park Service revealed in a court filing that the UFC and its sponsors invested “well over $60 million and tens of thousands of hours” into the event. This filing was in response to a lawsuit from the Public Integrity Project, which accused the organizers of misappropriating national monuments for personal gain.
Mark Shapiro, president of TKO, the UFC’s parent company, emphasized earlier this month that this was not aimed at generating immediate profit. “We see this once-in-a-lifetime stage as a strategic investment,” he said, highlighting its importance for future viewership and audience engagement.
