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White House eclipsed by giant UFC fight cage. Here's what to know
The White House is building an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighting cage on the South Lawn, with plans to host an event there next month as part of the nation’s 250th birthday. Here’s what to know.
What is the structure?Crews are erecting a standard UFC cage, which is 30 feet (about 9.1 metres) in diametre, directly in front of the White House entrance. U.S. President Donald Trump has referred to the temporary structure as “a 5,000-seat arena right outside the front door of the White House.”
The cage will sit beneath a massive arch-like structure that looks more like a UFO than UFC. It was previously erected in rural Lititz, Penn ., before being disassembled and shipped to Washington. At 90 feet (27 metre), tall it will dwarf the relatively modest White House, which is 70 feet (21 metres) tall at the south side.
Dubbed UFC Freedom 250, the event is costing UFC US$60million, which includes US$700,000 for replacing the South Lawn grass after the event.
How many fights will it host?There will be seven matches , including two championship title fights. Brazil’s Alex Pereira will take on France’s Ciryl Gane for the interim UFC heavyweight crown, while Ilia Topuria of Georgia will square off against U.S. current interim lightweight champion Justin Gaethje.
Canadian Aiemann Zahabi , born in Laval, Que., is also on the card, facing Sean O’Malley of the United States in a bantamweight bout.
The event is set to take place on June 14, which is Flag Day but also Trump’s 80th birthday.
Can I buy tickets?No. UFC president Dana White said 4,300 people will watch the event on the South Lawn, most of whom will be invited members of the military.
He added that another 85,000 tickets will be made available for free to members of the public to watch the event at the nearby Ellipse Park. No tickets will be on general sale to the public.
The BBC reports that “high roller” packages for some VIP guests, costing US$1.5 million, will provide special access at the event.
“I have never seen anybody want anything so much as people want those tickets,” Trump said of the demand.
What is Trump’s connection to the UFC?Trump has a decades-long connection with the UFC, dating back to his Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, N.J., hosting a UFC event in 2001.
“Nobody took us seriously,” White said of the event. “Except Donald Trump.” The two are longtime friends, and White has thrown his support behind Trump in each of his runs at the presidency.
What other modifications has Trump made to the White House?While temporary, the UFC stands are just the latest of Trump’s modifications to the White House and its grounds. These include adding gold details to the Oval Office, paving over the Rose Garden grass to install a patio space, refurbishing the bathroom attached to the Lincoln bedroom with marble and, most controversially, demolishing the East Wing to make room for a giant ballroom.
Trump also added a “Presidential Walk of Fame” along the West Colonnade, the walkway between the West Wing and the White House residence, with images of every U.S. president except for Joe Biden. His frame contains a picture of an autopen.
What other sports additions have been made to the residence?Trump is not the first president to make changes in the name of physical fitness .
In 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt added an indoor swimming pool. (He suffered from polio and swam in therapy pools.) It has since been covered and is underneath the floor of the press centre.
A renovation by Harry S Truman in the late 1940s included the addition of a two-lane bowling alley on the ground floor of the West Wing, later moved to the Old Executive Office Building. In 1969, Richard Nixon, an avid bowler, had a new one-lane alley built in an underground workspace area.
And shortly after taking office in 2009, Barack Obama, a basketball fan, modified a tennis court so it could be used for both tennis and basketball.
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Unpublished Newswire
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