Photo: Alamy
The White House is preparing to host one of the most unique sporting events in history – a UFC fight on the South Lawn, set to take place on President Trump’s 80th birthday.
UFC Freedom 250 is an event long teased by the president, but this week, construction began in earnest at the White House, bringing the vision one step closer to reality.
Photos emerged recently on social media of workers assembling what seems to be pieces of a UFC stage and lighting structure.
Although many sports teams and athletes have visited the White House over the years, it is believed that there has never been a professional sporting competition event (not to be conflated with children’s sporting events, like tee-ball) held on the grounds of the president’s personal residence.
The fight card, scheduled for June 14, is sponsored by Crypto.com and RAM, according to the UFC website.
The construction for the event is the first of its kind. UFC Chief Content Officer Craig Borsari told the Sports Business Journal that there were two main challenges when it came to the planning process: limited space and threadbare infrastructure.
“…We’re not at some open field where we don’t have to go through all the security measures that’s going to require for us to have heavy equipment and personnel on the property, so that’s one challenge,” he told the outlet. “The other challenge is having virtually zero infrastructure on the grounds to tie into.”
UFC will have to construct and engineer the key elements of the octagonal fight cage and the stadium seating on the South Lawn, navigating both key security necessities and safety concerns.
According to TIME’s recent detailed spread on UFC President Dana White’s plans for the Freedom 250 fight, roughly 1,200 of the 4,300 reported seats available for the event will be divvied up to active-duty military members.
White told the magazine that this fighting event was all about celebrating America’s birthday.
“You can make anything political if you want to,” he told TIME. “I love this country like anybody on the left loves this country. I love this country like anybody on the right loves this country. This is basically me spending a sh*tload of money to celebrate the 250th birthday of America, with America and the rest of the world.”
