UFC Event at White House Draws Criticism Over Scale and Lineup
12 reported1 conflicting
According to a Wired report, a UFC event scheduled for Sunday on the White House lawn, sponsored by Monster Energy, has drawn scrutiny over its scale, lineup, and promotional claims. The event, called UFC Freedom 250, is being promoted by UFC CEO Dana White as “the most historic sporting event in history,” but the article notes the fight card would not be considered especially historic without the White House backdrop. Secretary of State Marco Rubio compared the founding of the UFC to the moon landing while signing a memorandum of understanding to bring the UFC’s virtues to sports diplomacy. The article states that the UFC was not the first MMA promotion, nor the first founded in 1993, and that White did not introduce rules or weight classes to the sport. The event will feature a main event between undefeated 155-lb. champion Ilia Topuria and interim 155-lb. champion Justin Gaethje, along with an interim heavyweight title bout and other fights, none of which feature women. Top UFC stars Jon Jones and Conor McGregor will not be fighting, with conflicting accounts over why. Tickets are free, with about 1,900 controlled by Trump, White, and TKO boss Ari Emanuel, and much of the rest of the crowd expected to be active servicemembers meeting a waist-to-height ratio requirement. An evening thunderstorm is forecast, which White has vowed will not stop the fights.
What’s reported
The UFC event on the White House lawn is scheduled for Sunday and sponsored by Monster Energy.
Dana White called it “the most historic sporting event in history.”
The article states the fight card would not be considered historic without the White House backdrop.
Marco Rubio compared the UFC’s founding to the moon landing while signing a memorandum of understanding.
The article says the UFC was not the first MMA promotion or the first founded in 1993, and White did not introduce rules or weight classes.
Main event: undefeated 155-lb. champion Ilia Topuria vs. interim 155-lb. champion Justin Gaethje.
No women are featured in the fights.
Jon Jones and Conor McGregor will not fight; White said there were no negotiations with Jones, while Jones claims the UFC lowballed him.
McGregor is not fighting because he hasn’t been in an anti-doping pool long enough, and Trump doesn’t want to appear to favor specific fighters, per the White House.
Tickets are free; about 1,900 are controlled by Trump, White, and Ari Emanuel.
Much of the rest of the crowd will be active servicemembers with a waist-to-height ratio of less than 0.55.
An evening thunderstorm is forecast; White vowed it will not stop the fights.
Conflicting accounts
The article presents conflicting accounts regarding Jon Jones’ absence: Dana White stated there were no negotiations to have Jones fight, while Jones claims the UFC lowballed him. The UFC did not respond to a request for comment.
Key figures
Donald Trump, former president
Dana White, UFC CEO
Marco Rubio, secretary of state
Ilia Topuria, undefeated 155-lb. champion
Justin Gaethje, interim 155-lb. champion
Jon Jones, UFC fighter
Conor McGregor, UFC fighter
Ari Emanuel, boss of TKO (owns UFC and WWE)
Sources: Wired
