Trump Hosts UFC Freedom 250 Fights at White House for America’s 250th Anniversary

President Donald Trump is hosting UFC fights on the White House grounds on Sunday as part of celebrations marking America’s 250th anniversary and coinciding with his 80th birthday.

“Washington, DC – There are fisticuffs on the White House lawn, soon to be followed by a high-speed race through the National Mall”

Al Jazeera

The South Lawn has been transformed into a massive 4,300-seat arena with an eight-sided cage beneath a 92-foot canopy known as “the Claw,” which towers above the executive mansion.

Al Jazeera

UFC is fronting $60 million in production costs, while taxpayers are also footing part of the bill, and the event is being run by the Ultimate Fighting Championship with CEO Dana White.

NBC News described the 600-ton, 92-foot “Claw” and said tens of thousands of people have traveled from across the country, including fans in line on Saturday for a chance to meet fighters and see Zac Brown Band and a bald eagle fly across the crowd.

A federal judge rejected a request from two Virginia residents to block President Donald Trump from hosting tonight’s UFC fights at the White House, and the decision said the plaintiffs do not have the legal right known as “standing.”

CNN quoted the judge’s concern that a last-minute stoppage could cause substantial harm, including “The $60 million that the UFC and UFC-affiliated organizations have expended to put on the event,” and noted the administration’s argument that halting the event would disrupt Trump, the fighters and tens of thousands of spectators.

BBC

Separately, the BBC reported that thunderstorms threaten the UFC cage fight on the White House lawn, with a 70% chance of rain and “damaging thunderstorms” forecast to shake the region in the evening.

The BBC also said the action is set to start at 20:00 EDT and that the National Weather Service expects humidity exceeding 70% with temperatures around 80F (27C), while a lightning strike within eight miles could trigger a 30-minute freeze on the event.

The Guardian reported that UFC announced it will pay bonuses to fighters in cryptocurrency issued by Trump family business World Liberty Financial at the White House mixed martial arts event on Sunday.

“Washington — For the first time in U”

CBS News

The Guardian said World Liberty’s stablecoins are called “stablecoins,” whose value is pegged to the US dollar, and quoted White House spokesman Davis Ingle saying, “there is no conflict of interest.”

NPR reported that a watchdog group, the Public Integrity Project, filed a lawsuit attempting to halt the event and called the planned fights “deeply corrupt,” while the government responded that plaintiffs lacked standing and that “well over $60 million and tens of thousands of hours of labor have been expended.”

NPR also quoted a White House spokesperson saying, “There are no taxpayer dollars being used outside of what would be applied towards employees normal duties and responsibilities,” as the UFC Freedom 250 spectacle sits at the center of the America 250 semiquincentennial calendar.