WASHINGTON — In celebration of America’s 250th anniversary, a seven-match Ultimate Fighting Championship card was staged on the South Lawn of the White House, an event the dispatch called at once preposterous and ambitious. The show was described as a circus-like spectacle that managed to thrill and enrage different segments of the public.
The production included a 160-piece Marine Band providing walkout music, Octagon ring girls in stars-and-stripes dresses, a military flyover and a 92-foot-tall “claw” tower above the site. Bud Light was reportedly served and “Baba O’Riley” was among the songs used during the presentation. The fights were held outdoors in Washington humidity at a space built for governance, not sport, and weather delayed the start, stretching the card toward 1 a.m., according to the report.
The card finished with what the dispatch called an all-timer: Justin Gaethje won the lightweight title as a 6-1 underdog. Gaethje was quoted saying, “I’m from America. Two hundred and fifty years ago, we were way more than 6-1 underdogs.” About 1,000 active-duty service members attended and, the report said, supplied much of the night’s energy amid a crowd described as otherwise heavy with elites and billionaires.
President Donald Trump was present for the event, taking in “The Star-Spangled Banner” from the Truman Balcony, walking out with UFC CEO Dana White and sitting cageside as fighters saluted him. White told reporters at the postfight news conference that “Everything was perfect” and denied a political agenda for the event, saying it was intended as a celebration of the country’s 250th anniversary.
The dispatch noted that reactions were sharply divided. Some viewers found the presentation crass or were repelled by the violence — every fight ended in a stoppage, the report said — while others embraced the spectacle. The day also included governmental business, with officials spending the day attempting to negotiate the end of a war, creating a stark contrast between the manicured grounds and the night’s bloody cage contests.
