IN BRIEF
- A UFC event will host an audience of 5,000 on the White House's South Lawn, formerly a restricted area.
- A legal bid challenging the private use of government land is threatening the event.
This weekend, United States President Donald Trump will host Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fights on the White House South Lawn.
The night of fights is in celebration of the United States' 250th anniversary, and is taking place on Flag Day — a day celebrating the country's adoption of the national flag.
It also coincides with Trump's birthday on 14 June.
Trump initially announced the event would take place "on the grounds of the White House" during a rally in Iowa in July 2025.
"We have a lot of land there," he said.
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"We are going to have a UFC fight, a championship fight, full fight ... and we're going to do that as part of 250 also."
A month later, UFC president and chief executive Dana White met with Trump to confirm the "White House fight".
Competitors will weigh in at Washington's Lincoln Memorial a day before the fights, on 13 June.
Donald Trump's love for UFC
Trump has attended several UFC fights and publicly praised White as a "tough" and "great" guy.
During his 2024 acceptance speech, Trump said "nobody's done a better job at sports" than White.
White, who became UFC president in 2001, has endorsed Trump in all three campaigns.
The pair have had a long-standing friendship — White's first UFC events took place at Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Who is fighting, and how can you watch?
The night will feature a number of fights, including bantamweight, heavyweight, lightweight, middleweight and featherweight rounds.
The main event is the championship challenge between reigning UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria and interim champion Justin Gaethje.
Topuria, who has Georgian and Spanish ancestry, remains undefeated in the lightweight category.
Gaethje made his mixed martial arts (MMA) debut in 2008 during his sophomore year at the University of Northern Colorado. Raised by Mexican and German parents, the decorated wrestler is a Trump supporter — attending a rally in 2020 and crediting Trump for increasing MMA's popularity.
The co-main event is an interim UFC heavyweight championship fight between Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane.
The event will be streamed exclusively on Paramount+, and audiences will require a paid subscription to watch.
Claw construction and controversy
Construction has enveloped the White House South Lawn since May, with the main feature being the almost 30m canopy and lighting rig affectionately dubbed "the claw".
Weighing more than 600 tonnes, the claw hangs over a 13-tonne steel cage octagon — the main stage for the UFC fights.
The sloping South Lawn is levelled out with detailed scaffolding and protected by industrial matting.
Trump initially advertised that the event would host an in-person audience of up to 25,000, but security concerns have scaled that down to 5,000.
Although intended as a temporary structure, it's unclear whether the claw will be pulled down.
"Many don’t know that in Paris, France, the Eiffel Tower — 1889 it was built. It was supposed to be taken down immediately after the World's Fair, and then they said, 'You know, we sorta like it, let's leave it up a little bit longer.' Well, they never took it down," Trump said earlier this month.
"And, you know, we’re building something in front of the White House that's quite attractive to a lot of people. It's going to have the big UFC fight on June 14, and I’m looking at it — and maybe we'll never, ever take it down.”
His comments sparked controversy, including a legal challenge.
A lawsuit was filed against the National Park Service, which oversees the South Lawn, by the Public Integrity Project on behalf of a Vietnam War veteran and civic activist.
The challenge alleges that officials bypassed federal regulations to host the privately run event on government property.
It accuses the administration of violating a law that requires congressional approval for any structure erected on public land in the capital.
"The harm here is irreparable in the most basic sense: it cannot be undone once it occurs," the plaintiffs wrote in court documents.
"Once the cage fights are staged on the South Lawn and the weigh-ins are held at the Lincoln Memorial, the violation of the character and sanctity of these monumental spaces will be complete and incapable of remedy through later proceedings."
US justice department lawyers said the accusation is "meritless" and that a ruling blocking the event would compromise months of planning and waste labour and money.
"Plaintiffs' aesthetic interests are dwarfed by the amount of time, labour, and funding that has been invested in reliance upon an understanding that the planned activities will take place," they stated in court documents.
"Not to mention the excitement of fans and service members planning to attend or watch remotely. Plaintiffs did nothing for months while these costs accrued. On the equities, this is not a close call."
They pushed back on claims that the construction needed approval from Congress, saying "temporary structures" on the White House grounds weren't subject to congressional approval under federal law and that the claw would be dismantled the day after the event.
The department also said any delay in the event would compromise the health of the 14 competitors who may suffer injury from prolonged weight cutting.
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