Dana White has said 85,000 free tickets will be given away for the UFC’s White House event, ahead of an unprecedented fight card this summer.
The UFC will stage a remarkable event on 14 June, with the Octagon expected to be erected on the South Lawn as part of a celebration of 250 years of the United States.
The fight card will even take place on the 80th birthday of US president Donald Trump, who is a close friend of UFC CEO and president White.
Although fans have actually expressed disappointment since the fights were announced last week, complaining that the event was overhyped, there is some good news for some of them – 85,000 to be exact.
White said on Thursday: “The way that the White House is laid out, you’ve got the White House, you’ve got the South Lawn, and then there’s a road, and then the Ellipse.
“There’s a park that’s right there. We’re gonna be ticketing 85,000 people in the Ellipse, and the tickets are free, and we’ll announce how we’re gonna be giving them away soon.
“But you should plan on going to Washington DC for this event.”
It was previously confirmed that no tickets would be sold for the event, where very few people are expected to be allowed ringside.
White, 56, had even spoken of snipers lining the roof of the White House as a security measure. In fact, UFC commentator Joe Rogan said on his own podcast this week: “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***ing war.”
Referencing the US’s current conflict with Iran, Rogan continued: “I would hope the war will be sorted out by June, but quite honestly, I’m not confident that’s going to be the case. So, that’ll be weird, having this very high-profile event where everyone’s in one place at one time right there.”
Yet there will be many events of this kind in the US this summer. The nation is the main host of the Fifa World Cup, with 11 US cities hosting games between 11 June and 19 July. Mexico and Canada are co-hosts, with the former hosting three matches and the latter staging two.
The main event of the UFC’s White House event, named ‘UFC: Freedom 250’, will see Ilia Topuria defend his lightweight belt against interim champion Justin Gaethje.
In the co-main event, Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane vie for the interim heavyweight title, as Pereira aims to become the UFC’s first-ever three-weight champion.
Also on the card, Sean O’Malley will fight Aiemann Zahabi, Michael Chandler will face Mauricio Ruffy, Bo Nickal takes on Kyle Daukaus, and Diego Lopes will fight Steve Garcia.
Of the 12 participants, six represent the US: Gaethje, O’Malley, Chandler, Nickal, Daukaus and Garcia.
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