The White House woke up this Tuesday transformed into a large construction site. Cranes and construction equipment took the south lawn of the presidential residence to erect the temporary stadium that will host on June 14 a historic Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) evening, organized as part of the celebrations of President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday and the 250th anniversary of the independence of the United States.
The semicircular structure, whose pieces were manufactured in Europe, transported to Pennsylvania and from there by land to Washington, will have capacity for approximately 5,000 spectators, including members of the Armed Forces and guests of the UFC and the White House. For the rest of the public, the organization plans to install giant screens in The Ellipse, the park south of the residence, where they can follow the event live for up to 80,000 additional people.
The stellar fight will pit the Spanish-Georgian Ilia Topuria, undefeated in his 17 professional fights, against the American Justin Gaethje, for the unification of the lightweight world title. Topuria, born in Germany to Georgian refugee parents and based in Spain with dual citizenship, conquered the 155-pound belt by knocking out the Brazilian Charles Oliveira, and then stopped his activity for personal reasons. Gaethje, 37 years old and with a record of 27 wins and 5 losses, arrives as interim champion after defeating the British Paddy Pimblett in January 2026.
The fight card also includes a fight for the interim light heavyweight title between Brazilian
Alex Pereira, two-time UFC champion in two categories, and French
Cyril Gane. Dana White, CEO of the organization and one of Trump’s main public supporters in the 2024 campaign, presented the fight card alongside the president in the Oval Office during the broadcast of UFC 326 last March.
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This is how the UFC event will be at the White House
The cost of the show is as striking as the stage. According to Mark Shapiro, president of TKO Group Holdings — the parent company of the UFC — stated to investors,
the total budget will exceed 60 million dollars, a figure that “will definitely not go down and could go up.” TKO expects to recover about 30 million through sponsors, but is assuming losses. White informed the
Sports Business Journal that just replacing the south garden lawn will cost 700,000 dollars. The organization has guaranteed that no public funds will finance the event.
Trump, a declared fan of mixed martial arts, has a long history with combat sports: before his political career he promoted boxing evenings in the eighties and nineties, and maintained a close relationship with the
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), which included him in its hall of fame in 2013. The UFC, founded in 1993, is today the largest mixed martial arts organization in the world, with a presence in more than 160 countries.
The event has not been without controversy.
Democratic opponents have questioned the use of the executive power headquarters for a spectacle of this magnitude, and specialized media have pointed out the logistical difficulties of an unprecedented operation in the White House. The evening also coincides with Flag Day in the United States, a coincidence that the Trump administration has taken advantage of to clothe the largest and most expensive private sporting event ever held on the grounds of the presidential residence with patriotic symbolism.
