President Donald Trump revealed new details about the Ultimate Fighting Championship cage match — complete with a custom-built outdoor octagon — slated to take place at the White House on his 80th birthday this summer.
“I’ve been involved with a lot of big events,” the president told reporters gathered outside the Oval Office Monday. “I’ve never had an event that’s had more interest than the UFC fight that we have right at the front door.”
“They’re gonna start building about a 4,500-seat arena,” he said, while gesturing toward the South Lawn.
A much larger overflow area will be staged on the Ellipse, a 52-acre park just south of the White House grounds, he said.
“We’re gonna have maybe 100,000 — 50,000 to 100,000 people — I guess,” Trump said. “They’re building tremendous stages, and they’re gonna have massive screens of the fight.”
The mixed martial arts event is being hosted in commemoration of America’s 250th anniversary. It will take place on June 14, Trump’s birthday.
UFC, led by President Trump's longtime friend Dana White, unveiled its full card of bouts last month. It will include six prime-time fights.
One of the matches will feature Canadian MMA fighter Aiemann Zahabi, who said last month that he is “eager to spoil the party.”
“Everyone watches the Canadians play when they play against the United States,” he told Newsmax. “It’s huge stakes especially with all this tension going on between us politically.”
Other fighters scheduled to take part in the high-profile event include Ilia Topuria, Justin Gaethje, Alex Pereira and Sean O'Malley.
Joe Rogan, a popular podcaster and UFC color commentator, previously expressed reservations about hosting fights at the White House.
“It’s kind of a gimmick…It’s just going to be a security nightmare,” he said during an episode of podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, last month. “Also, they’re fighting outside. What if it rains? What if it’s hot?… June in D.C. can get pretty warm. That affects fighters.”
Trump is a longtime aficionado of the brutal sport, which is primarily popular with young men. He made history as the first sitting president to attend a bout in 2019, which ended early after one of the fighters sustained a cut that left blood gushing down his face.
“I have respect for fighters, you know, when you can take 200 shots to the face and then look forward to the second round,” Trump told podcaster Logan Paul while on the campaign trail in 2024.
This past weekend, the president, members of his family and Secretary of State Marco Rubio sat ringside for a UFC event in Miami, Florida, as peace talks to end the Iran war collapsed.
Afterwards, Trump praised Brazilian fighter Paulo Costa for his victory over his Russian opponent, Azamat Murzakanov.
“You could be a model, you look so good,” Trump told the shirtless champion in a ring-side meeting. “You’re too good looking to be a fighter. You are some fighter.”
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