Inside the crowd drawn to Trump’s unusual UFC fight night at the White House
WASHINGTON (AP) — One by one, burly mixed martial arts fighters raced down the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, past the imposing, hulking marble statue of America’s 16th president, to the roar of thousands of fans. extraordinary sports weekend celebrate the country’s 250th anniversary and President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday.
The press conference Friday night featured warriors preparing for battle. They will face each other in the Octagon on Sunday. It was built outside the White House. But it was also a chance to see the UFC fans who flocked to Washington for the show and endured lightning, humidity and bugs.
Advertising
Tracy Philbeck and her son Levi, along with a group of friends, traveled from Charlotte, North Carolina, to support their favorite fighter, American Justin Gaethje, in his upcoming lightweight title bout against Georgian Ilia Topuria.
“You’ll hear an eagle scream when Justin Gaethje wins,” the elder Philbeck chuckled.
David Halstead traveled from Albany, Western Australia, to watch the sport he has loved for a decade. Halstead said Trump, who regularly attends fights, “put the UFC on the map.”
UFC said this spent 60 million dollars at this weekend’s festivities and the Republican president declared it “the greatest demonstration on earth.”
Advertising
Not everyone agrees.
The Public Integrity Project described the incident as “the private, commercial and corrupt use of our most sacred national monuments for private gain.” in a case The watchdog group has filed an appeal to prevent this from happening on federal lands. a federal judge Decision was made on Friday The White House was allowed to proceed.
Only 1 in 10 U.S. adults consider themselves fans of mixed martial arts, according to an Ipsos Sports poll conducted in February and March. This poll shows that MMA fans skew male and non-white. They are more likely to identify as Republicans rather than Democrats.
Ricardo Rodriguez, 24, said he loves the physicality of the sport and said, “One of the misconceptions is that everyone who watches the UFC is a Trump supporter, but that’s not the case.” “People expect a knockout every time,” he said.
Advertising
Ellie Louizes, who practices Muay Thai or Thai kickboxing and jiu-jitsu martial arts, set out from Daytona Beach, Florida, with her boyfriend Jacob Purvis.
MMA’s female fans are a minority. But Louizes said she knows many women who started watching the sport through their male partners. “Female fighters are generally much more aggressive than men,” he said.
Fans ignored criticism of White House as host
Fans at the Lincoln Memorial ignored criticism of games held at the White House.
Fights are taking place in the “People’s House” “It goes back to the days of Teddy Roosevelt,” Tracy Philbeck said.
Advertising
Roosevelt regularly held sparring sessions at the White House, although there were no official public prizefights. He was an avid amateur boxer who boxed at Harvard and continued with the sport for most of his life.
Boxing fans also make up a large portion of the UFC’s fan base.
At a UFC-sponsored community event at the District of Columbia’s Midtown Youth Academy this week, the boxing gym’s general manager was assisting with visiting UFC fighter Randy Brown, who sparred with more than a dozen local teenagers and pre-teens.
Gloria Lee said meeting the fighter was a big deal for the kids at the gym. “It had been an exciting week and I was about to fall over when he walked through the door!” he said.
Advertising
When asked about his personal UFC fandom, Lee said he doesn’t watch much of it. But at the end of Brown’s visit, he stepped into the ring with the professional fighter and threw slugs of his own.
___
Associated Press writer Linley Sanders contributed to this report.
