85,000 free tickets to be given away for UFC fight on White House lawn
To commemorate 250 years of America's freedom from monarchy and tyranny, 85,000 tickets are being given away for the upcoming UFC fight night on the South Lawn of the White House.
The unprecedented fight night will take place on June 14 due to scheduling issues with Independence Day on July 4, with the new date just happening to coincide with President Trump's 80th birthday.
Taxpayers will not be paying a dime for the UFC Freedom 250 promotion on the South Lawn, where the costs of constructing the Octagon and associated viewing areas, as well as the top talent on the fight card, will likely break $60 million.
And TKO, the company behind WWE and UFC, won't be recouping much of the costs from people coming to Washington DC for the event, with UFC chief and close friend of the president Dana White revealing on Thursday that the tickets will be completely free.
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Explaining how tens of thousands of fans will be able to watch the event in person, White said: “The way that the White House is laid out, you’ve got the White House, you’ve got the South Lawn, and then there’s a road, and then the Ellipse.
“There’s a park that’s right there. We’re gonna be ticketing 85,000 people in the Ellipse, and the tickets are free, and we’ll announce how we’re gonna be giving them away soon.
“But you should plan on going to Washington DC for this event.”
So, while thousands of martial arts fans will no doubt take up this opportunity to see the headline title unification bout, where former UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria will face off against former lightweight champion Justin Gaethje, most of the viewing experience will be taking place on screens nearby.
Even UFC commentator Joe Rogan has said the event will likely be quite 'weird', saying on his podcast earlier this week: “It’s going to be very high security and high stress, and weird to have a fight at the White House in the middle of a f***ing war.”
With no clear end goal for when the aerial bombardment of Iran will finish, Rogan raised fears about holding such a star-studded event at the heart of American power and politics.
He said: “I would hope the war will be sorted out by June, but quite honestly, I’m not confident that’s going to be the case. So, that’ll be weird, having this very high-profile event where everyone’s in one place at one time right there.”
And the eye-watering price tag for the event will likely go even higher, with TKO Holdings estimating that costs could still increase, with the group only expecting to a return of $30 million.
TKO's chief operating officer Mark Shapiro revealed that the current estimated cost for putting on UFC 250 is 'upwards of $60 million'. But it could be much higher by the time the whole UFC circus is camped on the South Lawn.
He said on an earnings call: "By the time we get done, all is said and done with the event, what we play the fighters and the fan fest we're gonna have, that could move north.
"It's definitely not moving south – it could move north."
Topics: UFC, Donald Trump, MMA, Politics, US News
William Morgan