Construction on the temporary venue holding an Ultimate Fighting Championship event 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 hold the custom-built octagon fighting cage on the South Lawn of the White House, and an additional 100,000 spectators can watch the fight on screens at the White House Ellipse, a 52-acre park just south of the Executive Mansion’s grounds, he added.
“It’s all free,” Mr. Trump said. “It’s going to be great.”
The UFC and its parent company, TKO Group Holdings, are paying for the estimated $60 million cost of the White House event. UFC CEO Dana White has said that the promotion is covering all expenses, including the roughly $700,000 to $1 million for South Lawn restoration.
A 90-foot-tall, 160-foot-by-160-foot, open-air, dome-like structure that will serve as the center stage for the event, nicknamed “The Claw,” has been on display in Lititz, Pennsylvania.
“UFC Freedom 250,” the seven-fight UFC event, will commemorate America’s semiquincentennial, falling on June 14 on the 80th birthday of Mr. Trump, who is a longtime fan of the sport. Mr. White, an ally of the president, said he believes it may be the most-watched UFC event.
The president previously said that he has “never had an event that has had more interest than the UFC fight we have right at the front door.”
Lightweight fighters Ilia Topuria of Georgia in Eastern Europe and Justin Gaethje of Arizona will be the headliner fight. Other matches include Brazilian Alex Pereira and France’s Ciryl Gane, and Montana native Sean O’Malley and Canada’s Aiemann Zahabi.
