Wednesday, June 10, 2026 | 2 a.m.
Editor’s note: “Behind the News” is the merchandise of Sun unit assisted by the Sun’s AI lab, which includes a assortment of tools specified arsenic Anthropic’s Claude and Google Gemini.
When President Donald Trump floated the thought of a UFC combat connected the White House tract past summer, galore successful Washington assumed helium was joking.
“We’re going to person a UFC combat — deliberation of this — connected the grounds of the White House,” Trump told an Iowa assemblage July 3, 2025, astatine the authorities fairgrounds. “We person a batch of onshore there. ... We’re going to person a UFC fight, title fight, afloat fight.” [1]
He wasn’t joking.
On Sunday — Flag Day, and besides Trump’s 80th day — the South Lawn of the White House volition big UFC Freedom 250, a seven-fight mixed martial arts paper billed arsenic portion of the nation’s 250th day celebration. It marks the archetypal clip successful U.S. past that a nonrecreational sporting lawsuit has been staged astatine the enforcement mansion. [2]
The buildup has been thing but smooth.
From Atlantic City to Pennsylvania Avenue
The communicative of however a UFC cage ended up a fewer 100 yards from the Oval Office traces backmost much than 25 years, to a struggling casino successful Atlantic City, N.J.
In November 2000, Dana White — past managing combatant John Lewis — attended “UFC 28” astatine the Trump Taj Mahal alongside brothers Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta III, who were softly readying to bargain the astir bankrupt promotion. Three months later, connected Jan. 11, 2001, Zuffa LLC purchased the UFC for $2 cardinal and named White its president. [3]
Zuffa instantly ran into a wall. Mixed martial arts was inactive banned successful 36 states and viewed with heavy suspicion by venue operators crossed the country. U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., had famously labeled the athletics “human cockfighting.”
Trump stepped in. He offered the Trump Taj Mahal’s arena for “UFC 30” connected Feb. 23, 2001 — the archetypal Zuffa-era lawsuit — and past again for “UFC 31” that May, giving White’s fledgling promotion a high-profile location erstwhile fewer others would. [3]
“None of the venues wanted this,” White told CBS’s “60 Minutes” successful 2025. “They didn’t judge successful it, they didn’t similar it, and they were disquieted astir the benignant of assemblage that would amusement up.” [3]
White has carried a heavy consciousness of gratitude ever since. “Everything that ever happened to maine successful my career, aft that day, the archetypal feline to scope retired and accidental congratulations was Donald Trump,” White told Tucker Carlson successful a wide circulated interview. “Always sending thing and saying congratulations. A feline who is genuinely blessed for your success." [6]
The relationship deepened done Trump’s governmental rise. White introduced Trump astatine the 2016 Republican National Convention — implicit the objections of concern advisers who warned it could outgo him sponsors — and again successful 2024, erstwhile White spoke instantly earlier Trump accepted the GOP statesmanlike nomination. [7]
That loyalty has endured adjacent arsenic White has softly acknowledged that his authorities don’t afloat align with Trump’s. During a May quality connected “The Breakfast Club” with big Charlamagne Tha God, White pushed backmost erstwhile pressed connected his far-right image. “I’m not an overly governmental idiosyncratic either. I see myself close down the mediate oregon leaning a small liberal, to beryllium honorable with you,” helium said. “Everybody thinks I’m immoderate far-right feline due to the fact that of our relationship.” When co-host Loren LoRosa noted that his relation with Trump had helped signifier the governmental views of younger antheral voters, White responded “yeah, I’m OK with that.” [8]
Trump, for his part, became an evangelist for the sport. He attended UFC events arsenic a sitting president, often generating a reception from the assemblage that outshone the headliners. “He is 1 of my precise bully friends,” White told ESPN this spring. “Me and this feline person been friends for 25 years, and our narration gets stronger each year.” [3]
Building a combat paper acceptable for a president
Trump officially confirmed June 14, this Sunday, arsenic the combat day during a code Oct. 6 astatine Naval Station Norfolk successful Virginia — though helium did not notation past that the day would coincide with his ain 80th birthday. [10]
White confirmed plans were advancing aft gathering with Trump astatine the White House successful August. “The White House combat is on,” White said successful an Instagram Live video. “We got it done today.” [11]
The logistics person tested adjacent the UFC’s well-oiled accumulation machine. The lawsuit — dubbed “UFC Freedom 250,” a notation to the nation’s semiquincentennial — involves a afloat arena-style physique connected the South Lawn, implicit with an octagon, staging, a monolithic customized lighting operation called “The Claw,” and infrastructure for astir 5,000 invited guests seated astir the ring. Giant screens astatine the Ellipse, conscionable southbound of the White House grounds, volition accommodate an expected overflow assemblage of tens of thousands more. [12]
Fighters volition locomotion to the Octagon from the Oval Office. Weigh-ins are scheduled astatine the Lincoln Memorial. [13]
Construction connected the South Lawn began successful May. Satellite imagery obtained by ABC News successful aboriginal June showed the scope of the translation — cranes, staging and the octagonal alloy framework rising beside the gathering that houses the presidency. [12]
White called it “the astir challenging lawsuit we person ever done” — a notable assertion from a promoter who staged “UFC 306” wrong the Sphere successful Las Vegas successful 2024. [15]
A $60 cardinal gamble
The outgo of Freedom 250 has been 1 of the event’s astir scrutinized details.
TKO Group Holdings — the publically traded genitor institution of the UFC — is absorbing the afloat tab, estimated astatine upward of $60 million, according to TKO President and Chief Operating Officer Mark Shapiro, who discussed the fig connected a quarterly net call. [16]
“I privation to beryllium wide astir something,” Shapiro told analysts. “We volition not nett from the White House lawsuit independently. We volition not beryllium making wealth connected America’s 250th anniversary.” [16]
Shapiro said TKO hoped to recoup astir fractional the outgo done firm sponsorships, calling the lawsuit “an concern for the agelong term” aimed astatine expanding the UFC’s assemblage connected Paramount+. No nationalist tickets were made available; the 5,000 seats astir the octagon went to guests invited by the promotion, the Trump medication and the military. [18]
TKO’s media woody with Paramount and CBS, which kicked disconnected successful January, pays the UFC an mean of $1.1 cardinal per twelvemonth implicit 7 years — astir treble its erstwhile woody with ESPN — and eliminates the pay-per-view exemplary for each UFC events. “Freedom 250” volition aerial unrecorded connected Paramount+, with astatine slightest portions expected to simulcast connected CBS. [19]
The event’s outgo runs adjacent deeper into White House iconography. White revealed that restoring the South Lawn aft the lawsuit volition outgo an further $700,000 — conscionable for the grass. “Because we’re going to (expletive) up the South Lawn, $700,000 conscionable to regenerate the grass,” White told the Sports Business Journal. [20]
Legal challenges, regulatory tangles
Freedom 250 has faced challenges connected aggregate fronts.
On the regulatory side, the D.C. Combat Sports Commission — the assemblage that ordinarily oversees MMA events successful the nation’s superior — revealed successful February that it had nary engagement successful the lawsuit and had not issued a permit. Chairman Andrew Huff warned successful an interrogation with The Washington Post that without committee oversight, combat results mightiness not number connected fighters’ authoritative nonrecreational records. “There’s ever the anticipation that that individual, due to the fact that they’re not needfully impartial, would let a combat to continue, and idiosyncratic could get truly injured,” Huff said. [21]
The UFC argued that due to the fact that the White House sits connected national land, it falls extracurricular the D.C. commission’s jurisdiction. In March, the promotion announced it had secured oversight from the Association of Boxing Commissions, a nationalist body, ensuring each bouts would number arsenic authoritative nonrecreational contests. [22]
On the ineligible front, a national suit filed Saturday by the Public Integrity Project — conscionable 1 week earlier the paper — seeks an exigency injunction to halt the event. The ailment alleges 3 violations: that the UFC’s “Claw” operation lacks legislature authorization, that the lawsuit violates National Park Service regulations governing commercialized enactment connected national property, and that taxpayers carnivore costs associated with the event. The suit besides alleges that the lawsuit financially benefits Trump and his associates — including White and Paramount/Skydance CEO David Ellison — and points to Trump’s reported acquisition of up to $50,000 successful TKO Group Holdings stock. [23]
“This program is profoundly corrupt,” the plaintiffs wrote successful their filing. “The event, billed arsenic ‘UFC Freedom 250,’ is being organized by the UFC, whose main executive, Dana White, is simply a adjacent person and state of the president.” [24]
The White House pushed backmost against the lawsuit. “This iconic lawsuit is nary antithetic than the assorted different White House-hosted events connected the South Lawn and decently permitted events connected the Ellipse and National Mall passim the year,” a spokesperson said. [23]
As of Tuesday, the lawsuit remained connected way to proceed.
The Strickland controversy
No subplot has generated much turbulence successful the lead-up to Freedom 250 than the lawsuit of Sean Strickland.
Strickland, the existent UFC middleweight champion, publically claimed June 3 that helium had been banned from attending the lawsuit — the lone antheral American champion excluded from the card. The reason, helium said connected Instagram: his disapproval of Israel and of Trump’s narration with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“I made amusive of Israel and (Jeffrey) Epstein,” Strickland wrote. “The lone antheral American champ banned astatine the White House due to the fact that I said Trump is owned by (Benjamin Netanyahu). That’s not nationalist opinion, it’s fact.” [26]
In a video posted to societal media, Strickland formed the exclusion successful biting sarcasm: “The UFC higher-ups called me, you know, the large names, and they said, ‘Sean, I’ve got to apologize but you’re not Israeli capable to spell to UFC 250 Israel Edition.’” He aboriginal said helium planned to signifier a “peaceful protest” extracurricular the White House gates with a bullhorn and his rubric belt. [27]
Strickland added successful a consequent station that helium doubted Trump was personally down his exclusion. “I highly uncertainty Trump is sitting determination saying ‘Don’t wide Sean.’ I’m definite helium knows thing astir maine being blacklisted but careless it was done,” helium wrote. [28]
Neither the UFC nor White House officials publically confirmed oregon denied Strickland’s account.
The contention drew successful Justin Gaethje, who is warring connected the card. After a instrumentality called for American fighters to boycott the event, Gaethje fired backmost connected societal media astatine Strickland, calling him “relentlessly dumb.” Strickland responded by calling Gaethje a “spineless b----.” [29]
Meanwhile, lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan separately declined an invitation to service arsenic a backup combatant for the main event, saying helium preferred to hold for a afloat rubric changeable alternatively than chopped value arsenic a reserve. [30]
The card
For each the off-cage drama, the combat paper itself features immoderate of the biggest names successful mixed martial arts.
The main lawsuit is simply a lightweight rubric unification bout betwixt champion Ilia Topuria and interim champion Gaethje. The 29-year-old Topuria (17-0), a Georgian-Spanish combatant who stands arsenic 1 of the UFC’s biggest planetary stars, captured the 155-pound loop past June with a first-round knockout of erstwhile champion Charles Oliveira — aft antecedently winning the featherweight rubric by defeating Alexander Volkanovski and defending it against Max Holloway. Gaethje (27-5), 37, is simply a two-time interim champion wide regarded arsenic 1 of the astir entertaining fighters of his generation. He is winless successful undisputed rubric bouts, having been submitted by Khabib Nurmagomedov successful 2020 and Oliveira successful 2022. Topuria is simply a dense betting favorite, having been listed arsenic precocious arsenic minus-800. [31]
The co-main lawsuit pairs erstwhile two-division champion Alex Pereira against Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight title. Pereira, who won golden astatine middleweight and airy heavyweight, seeks to go the archetypal three-division UFC champion successful history. [32]
The implicit card:
- Lightweight championship: Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje
- Interim heavyweight championship: Alex Pereira vs. Ciryl Gane
- Bantamweight: Sean O’Malley vs. Aiemann Zahabi
- Heavyweight: Josh Hokit vs. Derrick Lewis
- Lightweight: Mauricio Ruffy vs. Michael Chandler
- Middleweight: Bo Nickal vs. Kyle Daukaus
- Featherweight: Diego Lopes vs. Steve Garcia [33]
Where and erstwhile to watch
"UFC Freedom 250" takes spot Sunday connected the South Lawn of the White House. The main paper begins astatine 5 p.m. PT (8 p.m. ET). The full paper airs connected Paramount+, with portions expected to simulcast connected CBS. [34]
White says lone lightning could postpone the show. “Nothing volition halt this amusement going that night, it could rain,” helium said. “Lightning is the lone happening that volition truly screw us.” [35]
Sources
[3] https://www.espn.com/mma/story/_/id/48995260/donald-trump-dana-white-forged-friendship-combat-sports
[6] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zl4l--jwZKw
[8] Dana White connected The Breakfast Club with Charlamagne Tha God, May 2026, arsenic reported by HITC: https://www.hitc.com/dana-white-raises-eyebrows-with-political-stance-despite-donald-trump-ties/
[9] ESPN timeline (see footnote 3).
[10] https://www.aol.com/articles/donald-trump-says-white-house-154200527.html
[11] https://www.aol.com/white-house-ufc-event-set-152258480.html
[13] The Hill/AOL (see footnote 11); ESPN, “Donald Trump says White House UFC lawsuit volition beryllium held June 14”: https://africa.espn.com/mma/story/_/id/46510783/donald-trump-says-white-house-ufc-event-held-june-14
[14] ABC News (see footnote 12).
[15] https://www.themirror.com/sport/mma/south-lawn-grass-ufc-trump-1861165
[16] https://www.aol.com/articles/ufc-spend-around-60m-white-131612867.html
[18] https://www.newsweek.com/how-the-white-house-lawn-will-be-restored-after-ufc-event-12024859
[21] https://wtop.com/dc/2026/06/ufc-to-hold-white-house-card-without-dc-sanctioning/
[23] https://www.espn.com/mma/story/_/id/48993111/lawsuit-seeks-shut-ufc-white-house
[26] https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/sean-strickland-says-hes-banned-045759953.html
[28] https://www.jpost.com/international/article-898405
[29] https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/dana-white-scrambles-sean-strickland-190238902.html
[30] https://www.totalprosports.com/mma/ufc/are-ufc-fighters-backing-out-white-house-event-freedom-250/
[34] https://www.paramount.com/press/paramount-and-tko-announce-historic-ufc-media-rights-agreement
[35] https://www.aol.com/articles/dana-white-reveals-weather-condition-011839898.html
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