Trump confirms he will attend UFC Freedom 250 event at White House in June
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President Donald Trump confirmed in a sit-down interview with boxer Jake Paul this week that he will attend the historic UFC event scheduled to be held in Washington, D.C., for the president’s 80th birthday as part of America 250 celebrations.
Trump, a longtime supporter of the UFC, talked about the highly anticipated event, which is scheduled to take place June 14 on the South Lawn of the White House and will feature two championship bouts.
President-elect Donald Trump watches the UFC 309 event at Madison Square Garden on November 16, 2024 in New York, New York. (Photo: Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
“I will do it” Trump responded When asked if he would attend the event, called UFC Freedom 250, Paul replied: “The White House will be amazing. And Dana [White] He is a great man. He’s a good fan of yours, you know. Dana is a good man. The best. So there’s no one like him.”
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Trump also talked about the card announced days ago, which featured Ilia Topuria facing Justin Gaethje for the UFC World Lightweight Championship and Alex Pereira facing Ciryl Gane for the interim UFC Heavyweight Championship.
“[White] There was an idea to stage it at the front door of the White House. We’ll be right at the front door of the White House. And he has a tremendous card. I don’t even know if it’s been filled, but I just saw it and it looks like they’re all going to be top guys. They all want to fight in the White House. So it will be in honor of the 250th anniversary. It’s going to be great.”
People hold flags as President Donald Trump arrives at UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
The card also includes: Sean O’Malley fights Aiemann Zahabi, Michael Chandler fights Mauricio Ruffy, Kyle Daukaus fights Bo Nickal and Steve Garcia fights Diego Lopes.
DANA WHITE REJECTS WHITE HOUSE UFC EVENT WILL BE ‘TOO POLITICAL’: ‘A HISTORY-MAKING EVENT’
The UFC plans to offer 85,000 free tickets to its outdoor viewing area at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C., White said Thursday. Tickets for the South Lawn will not be sold, but instead will be distributed to members of the military. ESPN reported.
Despite Trump’s position and presence, White dismissed the idea that the event would be “too political.”
“So I don’t know how political it would be outside the White House,” he said in a January interview with Bloomberg. “Listen, if you look back through history, I think [former President] George Bush was a big baseball fan. [former President Barack] Obama was an NBA fan and Trump was a UFC fan. “I don’t think any of these guys, as fans, make any sport too political.”
UFC president Dana White and former US president Donald Trump attend UFC 296 at T-Mobile Arena on December 16, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
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The UFC event is just one of many events Trump has planned to celebrate America’s 250th birthday. Last month, it was announced that the IndyCar race would be held in August and that it would be free for fans to come and watch.
Fox News Digital’s Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.
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