A 4,500-seat UFC octagon is coming to the White House South Lawn
Construction on the temporary site where the Ultimate Fighting Championship event will be held at the White House in June will begin next week, President Trump said.
“The arena, they’re going to start building it over the next week,” he told reporters Friday.
The 4,500- to 5,000-seat venue will host the custom-built octagonal fighting cage on the White House South Lawn, and an additional 100,000 spectators will be able to watch the fight on screens at the White House Ellipse, a 52-acre park just south of the Executive Residence grounds, he added.
“Everything is free,” Mr. Trump said. “It’s going to be great.”
The UFC and its parent company, TKO Group Holdings, are financing the estimated $60 million cost of the White House event. UFC CEO Dana White said the promotion covered all expenses, including the estimated $700,000 to $1 million to restore the South Lawn.
A 90-foot-tall, 160-by-160-foot domed outdoor structure that will serve as the center stage of the event, dubbed “The Claw,” has been put on display in Lititz, Pennsylvania.
“UFC Freedom 250,” the UFC’s seven-fight event, will commemorate America’s semicentennial, falling on June 14 on the 80th birthday of Mr. Trump, a longtime fan of the sport. Mr. White, an ally of the president, said he believed it might be the most-watched UFC event.
The president previously said he had “never had an event that had more interest than the UFC fight that we have right outside the door.”
Lightweight fighters Ilia Topuria of Georgia in Eastern Europe and Justin Gaethje of Arizona will headline the fight. Other matches include Brazilian Alex Pereira and Frenchman Ciryl Gane, as well as Montana native Sean O’Malley and Canadian Aiemann Zahabi.
