Crews are busy constructing a temporary octagon-shaped cage on the White House South Lawn for a UFC bout that will help mark America's 250th anniversary and President Donald Trump's 80th birthday. The event is scheduled for June 14, and online renderings show a wire-mesh-fence-ringed fight space surrounded by a red, white, and blue stage under a towering arch featuring stars and stripes patterns, along with two large screens broadcasting the action live. Thousands of temporary seats will encircle the cage and stage, including ringside space for a full marching band.
Part of a Series of Celebrations
The UFC fight is part of a series of events celebrating the semiquincentennial of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Other planned functions include an IndyCar race passing by the White House and the Great American State Fair on the National Mall. Trump has stated that the finished project will feature a 5,000-seat arena right outside the White House's front door. Additional large screens will be set up in a park at the nearby Ellipse, and the UFC plans to issue up to 85,000 free tickets for spectators at both locations.
Ticket Demand and Fight Card
Trump remarked on the high demand for tickets, saying, "I have never seen anybody want anything so much as people want those tickets. That's gonna be something." However, the fight card has been criticized by fans online as underwhelming, featuring only two championship fights. Brazil's Alex Pereira will face France's Ciryl Gane for the interim UFC heavyweight title, while Spanish-Georgian lightweight champion Ilia Topuria takes on interim champ Justin Gaethje, one of only two Americans holding a share of the UFC's 11 championship belts.
White House Building Boom
The octagon and surrounding structures are the latest project in Trump's White House building boom. Other efforts include tearing up part of the Rose Garden for a patio reminiscent of his Mar-a-Lago estate, affixing partisan plaques for a Presidential Walk of Fame, renovating the bathroom attached to the Lincoln Bedroom, revamping the Palm Room, placing new flag poles on the north and south lawns, and demolishing the entire East Wing for a sprawling ballroom. Trump also wants to repaint the Eisenhower Executive Office Building and build a 250-foot arch at the Lincoln Memorial, where weigh-ins for the UFC fight are scheduled to take place.
