The UFC is about to host an unprecedented event at the White House, putting on a series of fights to celebrate 250 years of the United States.
The UFC’s cage is expected to be built on the South Lawn, where seven fights will take place – on the 80th birthday of US president Donald Trump, coincidentally.
Trump is a close friend of UFC president and CEO Dana White, who promised the greatest card in MMA history. And although fans have expressed disappointment in the actual quality of the bout list, it is still a strong collection of contests.
Here’s all you need to know:
When is the UFC White House event?
The event, named ‘UFC Freedom 250’, will take place on Sunday 14 June. The fights will begin at 5pm PT / 7pm CT / 8pm ET (1am BST on Monday).
How can I watch it?
Specifics have not yet been announced, but Ari Emanuel – CEO of the UFC’s ownership group, TKO – said in April: “It’s gonna be CBS, Paramount+. I mean, I don’t know who is not watching that fight [card].” Indeed, the UFC’s fight cards have been streaming live on Paramount+ since January, with CBS showing segments of certain events as well.
Who is fighting?
Subject to change; ‘C’ denotes champion:
Ilia Topuria (C) vs Justin Gaethje (lightweight title) – related: Topuria teases Trump in Oval Office
Alex Pereira vs Ciryl Gane (interim heavyweight title)
Sean O’Malley vs Aiemann Zahabi (bantamweight)
Derrick Lewis vs Josh Hokit (heavyweight) – related: Hokit to fight at White House after Trump’s ringside request
Mauricio Ruffy vs Michael Chandler (lightweight)
Bo Nickal vs Kyle Daukaus (middleweight) – related: Daukaus claims he doesn’t deserve to fight at White House
Diego Lopes vs Steve Garcia (featherweight)
Who can attend? Can I get a ticket?
There will be no general admission for the White House fights, which are expected to be invite-only. However, fans can apply for free tickets to watch the fights from the Ellipse park, next to the White House.
White, 56, said in May: “[Trump] wants this to be mostly for the military, so there’s gonna be 4,300 people there. I just literally went over it right now; 4,300 people, and most of them will be military. 100 per cent [it’s a ‘thank you’ to the military].
“We’re gonna give away about 85,000 tickets [to the Ellipse]. There’s a process, you have to register for tickets, and they’re free […] For those who don’t know, the Ellipse is a massive park. Literally, you’ll be able to see the fight[s] from the Ellipse, but we have screens, we’ve got stages, we’ve got music.”
What other events will take place that week?
A press conference will take place at the Lincoln Memorial on Friday 12 June, beginning at 5.30pm PT / 7.30pm CT / 8.30pm ET (1.30am BST on Saturday).
Then, on Saturday 13 June, a fan festival will play out at the Ellipse, a large park located next to the White House. That will begin at 12.30pm PT / 2.30pm CT / 3.30pm ET (8.30pm BST). Thereafter, the ceremonial weigh-in for the fight card will get started at 5.30pm PT / 7.30pm CT / 8.30pm ET (1.30am BST on Sunday), followed by a concert from the Zac Brown Band at 6.30pm PT / 8.30pm CT / 9.30pm ET (2.30am BST on Sunday).
Finally, the fight card itself will take place on Sunday 14 June, beginning at 5pm PT / 7pm CT / 8pm ET (1am BST on Monday).
What will security be like?
Speaking last September, White said: “The last time I was at the White House, I went up on the roof of the White House, and they’ve got snipers with .50 cals all over the roof of the White House. It’s pretty crazy. But yes, I mean, the security is gonna be a massive issue, because at the end of the day, secret service’s job is to protect the president.”
In late April, Mr Trump was seemingly targeted by a shooter at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, and alleged suspect Cole Allen was later charged with attempted assassination.
In fact, White was present and said afterwards: “It started to get noisy. Tables started getting flipped over, guys running with guns and they were screaming ‘get down!’ I didn’t get down. It was f***ing awesome, and I literally took every minute of it in. It was a pretty crazy, unique experience. We were sitting right in front of the table, right in front of where the president was. Nobody got tackled but guys came in looking for shooters, I thought the shooter was over by us or something.”
