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The President of the United States, Donald Trump, turns 80 years old this Sunday and is celebrating with an unprecedented event in the history of the presidential residence: a mixed martial arts evening organized by the UFC in the South Lawn of the White House.
The event, named UFC Freedom 250 in honor of the 250th anniversary of the independence of the United States, was announced by Trump last October during a speech at the Norfolk Naval Station in Virginia, where he stated: "And on June 14 of next year, we are going to have a great UFC fight at the White House, right at the White House, on its grounds."
The octagon is installed under a 30-meter metal structure illuminated with the colors of the American flag, with a capacity for over 4,000 guests, of which at least 1,200 are active-duty military personnel.
In the Elipse, an area adjacent to the White House, a Fan Zone was set up with giant screens for up to 120,000 spectators, with free access through prior registration.
UFC Freedom 250 is the first professional sporting event held at the White House.
The star lineup features two title fights: the Hispanic-Georgian Ilia Topuria, undefeated in his career and lightweight champion, will take on American Justin Gaethje in the main event, while Brazilian Alex Pereira will go up against Frenchman Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight title in the co-main event.
The full lineup also includes the fights Sean O'Malley vs. Aiemann Zahabi, Mauricio Ruffy vs. Michael Chandler, Bo Nickal vs. Kyle Daukaus, and Diego Lopes vs. Steve Garcia.
The Secretary of State, Marco Rubio described the event as a gift to the American people and a way to project American culture to the world.
The White House teased on Saturday spectacular images of the renovated reflective pool at the Lincoln Memorial, just in time for the UFC Freedom 250 celebration.
The official video shared on X shows hundreds of people gathered at the National Mall, the octagon set up in front of the White House illuminated in blue and red, and a dramatic double rainbow over the Washington Monument at sunset, with the reflecting pool serving as a backdrop.
The event will be streamed exclusively on Paramount+ starting at 8:00 PM Eastern Time, with sponsors including Crypto.com, Ram Trucks, and Monster Energy.
The UFC estimates a total production cost of 60 million dollars—three times the cost of the event at the Sphere in Las Vegas—with projected losses of up to 30 million, as the goal is to recover only half through sponsorships.
Trump has maintained a close friendship with Dana White, president of the UFC, for decades. White opened the doors of his Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City to him in the early 2000s, when MMA was considered a marginal sport. White spoke at the 2024 Republican National Convention as a fervent political ally of the president.
The evening is not without controversy.
A civic organization filed a federal lawsuit to block it, claiming that the White House is being used for a private spectacle for commercial purposes and pointing out a conflict of interest, given that Trump reportedly bought $50,000 in shares of TKO Group Holdings—the parent company of the UFC. Federal Judge Amit Mehta denied the emergency injunction request on Friday, allowing the event to proceed.
Trump also announced that the Department of War will debut its first television advertisement during the evening, titled “Peace Through Strength,” as a call for military recruitment.
The spokesperson Steven Cheung summarized the spirit of the event to the Wall Street Journal: "This will be one of the biggest and most historic sporting events in history. The fact that President Trump is hosting it at the White House is a testament to his vision of celebrating the monumental 250th anniversary of the United States."
Last year, Trump celebrated his 79th birthday with a military parade that cost around 45 million dollars and was accompanied by massive protests under the slogan "No Kings".
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