Dana White has confirmed the attendance figure for the upcoming UFC event at the White House, while noting an emphasis on members of the military.
On 14 June, the UFC’s Octagon will be built on the South Lawn as a series of fights play out at an unprecedented event, celebrating 250 years of the United States.
The fight card, titled UFC Freedom 250, also coincides with the 80th birthday of US president Donald Trump, a close friend of UFC president and CEO White.
And with the event just five weeks away, White provided his latest update on Monday, telling Fox News: “[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].”
Confirming a prior plan for general fans to be limited to a nearby park, White added: “Across the street is the Ellipse. 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.
“If you are a fan of the UFC, and especially if you’ve never been to Washington DC, we’re gonna give away about 85,000 tickets. There’s a process, you have to register for tickets, and they’re free, but you should come to Washington DC that week. We’re gonna be doing all kinds of things in DC for fans.”
The main event of the fight card will pit lightweight champion Ilia Topuria against interim-title holder Justin Gaethje, after Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane clash over the interim heavyweight belt.
Earlier in the night, Michael Chandler faces Mauricio Ruffy at lightweight; Bo Nickal and Kyle Daukaus clash at middleweight; Sean O’Malley squares off with fellow bantamweight Aiemann Zahabi; and Steve Garcia takes on Diego Lopes at featherweight.
Furthermore, Josh Hokit and Derrick Lewis will meet at heavyweight, after Mr Trump watched from ringside as Hokit won an instant classic with Curtis Blaydes in May. Hokit vs Lewis – the latter of whom is one of Mr Trump’s favourite fighters – was added to the White House card that very night.
