What we know about the UFC fight at the White House
By Kit Maher, CNN
(CNN) — When President Donald Trump first presented the idea of a UFC fight on the White House South Lawn, some people thought he was joking.
“We’re going to have a UFC fight — think of this — on the grounds of the White House,” Trump said in Iowa last July, teasing special events honoring America’s 250th anniversary.
Fast forward about a year, and the idea is becoming a reality.
Construction crews are building a fight cage on the South Lawn for the June 14 fight, and the White House is now dwarfed by a massive arched lighting grid, which the Ultimate Fighting Championship calls “The Claw.”
When the fighters strap on their gloves and climb into the cage, more than 90,000 people will descend on the White House grounds to watch them battle it out.
‘The Claw’
Construction on “The Claw” came into view in late May over the top of the White House briefing room, where reporters began taking notice. The massive structure is now nearly impossible to miss, even blocks from the White House.
CEO Dana White told “The Jim Rome Show” that UFC found a place in Belgium to create the structure.
“It’s a lighting grid that almost looks like a spaceship, and it goes over the Octagon,” White said, referring to UFC’s signature eight-sided fenced-in fighting arena. “Shipped it from Belgium to Philly. Built it in Philly and tested it. Tore it back down and put it on trucks and shipped it to DC.”
The lead-up to the fight
Several events are programmed in the days leading up to the fight — which falls on Flag Day and Trump’s 80th birthday — including meet and greets with current and former UFC athletes; a Zac Brown Band concert; and a ceremonial weigh-in, all culminating with a watch party on the Ellipse.
Who’s fighting?
The fight card includes the main events between American Justin Gaethje vs. Georgian Ilia Topuria in the lightweight title bout and Brazilian Alex Pereira vs. France’s Ciryl Gane in the heavyweight interim title bout. All the matches are listed on the UFC website with further information about the fighters. There are eight American fighters on the UFC Freedom 250 fight card.
Tickets
All events are free and ticketed. However, the cutoff to request tickets for the “UFC Freedom 250 Fan Fest” was May 22, according to a “last chance” email UFC sent out.
A White House official told CNN last month that people are vying for tickets to the event, a third of which are reserved for military members and their families, a third for White House staff and their familes and another third for VIPs. UFC also has 200 tickets to give out on the South Lawn. White told Fox News in an interview that 4,300 people will be on the actual South lawn for the fight and “most of them will be military.”
Senior Pentagon leaders are putting together lists of uniformed service members who will be offered the chance to attend the fight, but tickets will only be given to those who meet military body composition standards, according to guidance memos reviewed by CNN and sources familiar with the process.
There are about 85,000 tickets allotted for the general public at the Ellipse watch party, as well.
White told TIME magazine in a recent interview that he has invited several professional athletes and celebrities including Tom Brady, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Jared Leto, Guy Ritchie, Adam Sandler, Mario Lopez and Jason Statham.
Who pays for it?
In response to those on social media who asked, “Who’s paying for it?” The White House swiftly responded on X: “UFC.”
White said the organization would be shouldering the costs of the event, telling Sports Business Journal in January, “We’re eating the whole thing,” and adding that the lighting grid was part of the high expense.
Mark Shapiro, the president of TKO Holdings Group, which owns UFC, said in a separate interview with Sports Business Journal that despite the estimated $60 million cost, the venue is an opportunity for the brand, given the earned media and attention surrounding the massive event.
What happens if it rains?
A second White House official said that weather is certainly a factor given the fight is outside. But the hope is that the forecast is clear.
In the interview with Fox News, White said he hates having fights outdoors because of the unpredictability. But he said the team will be working with the US military to monitor the weather by the hour and make any necessary changes.
“If it rains, we’re going. If it snows, we’re going. The only thing that will stop us is lightning. But we’re working with the military, so the military knows the weather 10 days out, and they’ll notify us every two hours, 10 days out. Seven days out, they’ll notify us every hour,” White said. “The only thing that kills us is lightning. So, we could move the event two hours earlier, two hours after.”
The only other UFC event that has been held outdoors was in Abu Dhabi in 2010, White told Fox.
‘Kind of a gimmick’
The White House has faced some criticism for hosting a UFC fight on the South Lawn, including from Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office which wrote on X, “Mr. President, we just want lower gas prices.” Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren posted a picture of the UFC construction, writing, “It might be hard to see from this picture today of the White House, but Donald Trump is very focused on lowering costs.”
Notably, podcast host Joe Rogan, who also commentates for UFC, said on his show the fight is “kind of a gimmick” and a “security nightmare” — but, he plans on attending the event.
“I’ll be there, but I’m not thrilled about it,” Rogan said. “It just doesn’t seem like a wise idea.”
In the TIME magazine article on White, Trump responded to Rogan’s criticism.
“At first I thought, ‘That’s not nice,” Trump said. “And then I realized, it is a gimmick. Life is a gimmick, if you think about it, right? But it’s a good gimmick. It’s something that will never happen again.”
Rogan also previously said on his podcast that hosting the UFC fight during the Iran war would be “weird.”
“It’s going to be very high security, and high stress and weird to have a fight at the White House in the middle of a f**king war,” he said.
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