Temporary UFC arena built on the South Lawn of the White House for Freedom 250
Construction begins on the White House South Lawn Arena for the 5,000-guest UFC Freedom 250.
In an interview with Time magazine, UFC president and CEO Dana White insisted that the UFC’s event at the White House next month is patriotic, not political, and said he has vowed not to engage in political activity after the 2024 election.
When asked about UFC Freedom 250, White told the publication, “You can make anything political if you want to.” “I love this country as much as someone on the left loves this country. I love this country as much as someone on the right loves this country. This basically means I’m spending a lot of money to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary with America and the world.”
UFC Freedom 250 is scheduled for June 14th on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC. According to Time, President Donald Trump “planted the seeds” for a White House event after his re-election in 2024 after speaking with White at a UFC bout at Madison Square Garden.
The Time magazine profile also details White’s relationship with Trump and his ties to the Make America Healthy Again and manosphere movements. The president previously said White was “very important” to his 2024 campaign, and UFC executives arranged for Trump to appear on a podcast popular with young people, including Joe Rogan.
“He introduced me to people and young kids I had never heard of,” Trump said, Time reported. “They’re good kids, they have a big crowd, and that all helps.”
White endorsed Trump in 2020 and spoke on his behalf at a rally in Colorado. In 2024, he introduced Trump at the Republican National Convention before he accepted the Republican presidential nomination.
White claimed that the UFC would lose approximately $30 million on this event. But Mark Shapiro, president and chief operating officer of UFC parent company TKO, told Time that the event was “the biggest acquisition marketing tool in history.”
What is UFC Freedom 250?
UFC Freedom 250 will be held on June 14th on the South Lawn of the White House. Fans can watch the event on large screens at The Ellipse, which can accommodate up to 85,000 people.
The event itself is invitation-only, with 1,200 of the 4,300 planned attendees being active military. The event, which also happens to be President Trump’s 80th birthday, was planned as an early celebration of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.
The incident has drawn criticism from lawmakers, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Sen. Adam Schiff.
“While Trump is building a golden ballroom and arranging a UFC fight on the White House grounds for his birthday party, you’re fighting to pay this month’s bills,” Schiff told X on May 26.
UFC Freedom 250 invitees listed in Time’s Dana White profile
Time’s profile included a list of celebrities White said he had invited to UFC Freedom 250.
- adam sandler
- guy ritchie
- tom brady
- jared leto
- Jason Statham
- Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
- mario lopez
USA TODAY has reached out to representatives of the designated invitees for comment.
What is UFC Freedom 250?
UFC Freedom 250 will be held on June 14th on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC. Fans can watch the event on large screens at The Ellipse, which can accommodate up to 85,000 people.
The event itself is invitation-only, with 1,200 of the 4,300 planned attendees being active military. The event, which also happens to be President Trump’s 80th birthday, was marketed as an early celebration of America’s 250th anniversary.
The card includes two title fights: lightweight champion Ilia Topria vs. Justin Gaethje, and Cyril Gane vs. Alex Pereira for the interim heavyweight title. The rest of the card includes Sean O’Malley vs. Ayeman Zahavi, Josh Hokitt vs. Derrick Lewis, Michael Chandler vs. Mauricio Luffy, Kyle Daukaus vs. Bo Niccal, and Steve Garcia vs. Diego Lopez.
White said in his profile that he would like to book a title fight between Weili Zhang and Mackenzie Dern, but that “that just wasn’t going to happen.”
