President Donald Trump has reportedly greenlit plans for a full-blown UFC mixed martial arts event to take place right on the White House’s South Lawn in June.
The weigh-in for the event will be conducted on the steps to the Lincoln Memorial.
UFC CEO Dana White, a longtime ally of President Trump, sealed the deal during a recent White House visit, where he presented the president with a glossy brochure outlining the vision, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.
As White departed on a private jet, he excitedly announced the event to his millions of followers on social media.
“The White House fight is on,” White wrote. “We got it done today.”
The lineup will feature a complete card of male and female fighters, with thousands of spectators gathering to watch the action unfold against the iconic backdrop of the White House and Washington Monument. Spectators can reportedly expect lasers, fireworks, and massive jumbo screens on the Ellipse.
Leading up to the main event, the National Mall will host days of fan activities, including autograph sessions with UFC stars and interactive punching bags for tourists. Weigh-ins and a press conference are planned for the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, a Brazilian jujitsu practitioner and avid UFC fan, will lend her expertise to the planning, having already joined a lengthy discussion with White and the president via phone.
The WSJ reports, “Fighters might warm up in the White House. One early idea was to have them emerge from the Oval Office and walk through a colonnade and into a cage set up in the Rose Garden. But Trump and others want a bigger show with more spectators, so the event has been moved to the South Lawn. A UFC team has already surveyed the grounds.”
“This will be one of the greatest and most historic sports events in history, and President Trump hosting it at the White House is a testament to his vision to celebrate America’s monumental 250th anniversary,” Trump spokesman Steven Cheung told the WSJ.
The report also noted, “Trump’s affiliation with UFC and White dates to the early 2000s, when Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City hosted mixed martial arts events, a boost for an organization that was unwelcome in many places because of the brutality of the combat. In the 1990s, Arizona Sen. John McCain, a Republican, led a charge against what he called ‘human cockfighting.’ UFC added safeguards, and its popularity soared, with White giving credit to the lawmaker.”
Trump floated the idea of a fight at the White House during a rally in July.
“We’re going to have a UFC fight, think of this, on the grounds of the White House. We have a lot of land there. We’re going to build a little — we’re not, Dana’s going to do it. Dana’s great. One of a kind,” Trump said at a “Salute to America” event in Iowa.
Trump said it would be a “championship fight” and that the grounds could hold a crowd of 25,000 people.
White and Trump have been friends for years, and the president is a regular at the events. He always draws massive applause from fans in the arenas as he enters.
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