UFC fans slam decision to hide Freedom 250 event behind streaming paywall
Topics: UFC, Sport, US News, Film and TV
Phoebe Tonks
Featured Image Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images
Topics: UFC, Sport, US News, Film and TV
US fight fans have reacted with absolute fury tonight after realizing that the historic UFC Freedom 250 card—held on the literal South Lawn of the White House—has been locked behind a strict corporate streaming paywall.
Despite being heavily promoted as a patriotic celebration of America’s 250th anniversary of independence, everyday citizens quickly discovered there is no legal way to watch the event for free on traditional television.
Instead, viewers were being forced to sign up for a monthly subscription to Paramount+ just to get a glimpse of "The People’s House," sparking a massive backlash across social media over the commercialization of a national landmark.
“I think if the fight is being held at 'America's House' Americans should not have to spend money to watch it. I absolutely would never pay Paramount to watch a fight on America's front yard,” wrote one unimpressed viewer.
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"A corporate paywall on the executive lawn for a national anniversary? We are living in a literal episode of Idiocracy,” echoed another.
A third also shared a similar sentiment as they wrote: "They used taxpayer resources and security to set up a cage match, but I have to download an app and give them my credit card to see it? Absolute joke.”
While many viewers have raged at what they deemed misappropriation of tax-payer funds, Dana White and the White House have repeatedly argued that this is not the case.
Instead they have stated that the UFC and its private corporate affiliates are footing the production bill so that taxpayers don't have to.
The UFC even had to agree to pay around $700,000 just to replace and restore the South Lawn grass when they rip the cage down.
Yet this isn’t the whole truth, as court documents filed in relation to the event revealed that seven federal agencies (including Homeland Security, Secret Service, and the Federal Aviation Administration) have had to "allocate significant public resources and manpower" to pull this off. The Secret Service has been screening 20 to 30 trucks of equipment and up to 900 staff entering the White House grounds daily since May 20th, according to the Associated Press.
UFC also looks set to benefit from the event via multiple private kickbacks, as instead of a normal Pay-Per-View, the UFC is clawing back its $60 million investment through massive private business deals.
It’s no coincidence that the fight is streaming exclusively on Paramount+, considering the administration just approved a high-profile multi-billion dollar media merger for Paramount Skydance earlier this year.
Adding further fuel to the fire, one of the primary corporate sponsors funding the night’s historic $250,000 fighter bonus pool is World Liberty Financial—a cryptocurrency company co-founded by the Trump family.
Between private crypto ties, a multi-million dollar streaming exclusivity deal, and the massive deployment of federal manpower, fans are left feeling that the 250th anniversary celebration was never truly meant for them.
As one viral tweet summarized: "They built a corporate fortress on the executive lawn, used our security to guard it, and then charged us a subscription fee to look through the gates."
With the stream still plagued by connection errors and the political fallout only just beginning, UFC's historic night at the Executive Mansion has proved to be a victory for private interests, leaving everyday fans firmly locked on the outside looking in.