UFC Freedom 250 is being held at the White House this evening.
It is a very special event which will see a UFC card staged on a Sunday, to mark ‘Flag Day’, a key part of the celebrations of American independence, and coincidentally, President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday.
The card will be held in ‘The Claw’, a temporary cage set up in the White House’s grounds, on the South Lawn specifically.
The spectacle will see 14 fighters across seven bouts, with the President in attendance, but it has caused plenty of controversy in the build-up, with the the Public Integrity Project claiming that it was a "profound misuse of sacred national monuments for private gain" in a federal lawsuit that was dismissed.
The steel arena, which will stand at 92 feet tall, is set to host around 4,000 spectators, while around 85,000 are set to watch the fights unfold on big screens at the Ellipse just down the road in Washington, DC.
Why is UFC Freedom 250 being held at the White House?
It all comes back to UFC president Dana White’s friendship with Trump, which dates back over 25 years.
White bought the UFC back in 2001 for $2million, with the promotion on its knees from a political standpoint, with the sport of Mixed Martial Arts banned across 36 states.
Trump allowed for two UFC cards to be staged at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey, back in 2001, and that gave the sport and promotion the platform to grow, with increased use of safety regulations and gloves, building to the company selling for $4billion in 2016.
The UFC are believed to be spending around $60m to put the show on at the White House, with reports claiming that they will pay $700,000 alone to restore the South Lawn’s turf.
The event being held at the White House is also thought to be a political move seeking to appeal to the younger, under-30 male demographic, which heavily favours Trump in the US.
The card itself will see two title fights, with Ilia Topuria taking on Justin Gaethje to unify the lightweight belts, while Ciryl Gane fights Alex Pereira for the interim heavyweight championship.
