UFC Freedom 250: White House hosts MMA card for Trump’s 80th birthday, live updates
Article excerpt
The UFC held an unprecedented event on the White House lawn to celebrate President Trump's 80th birthday, with officials pushing the seven-fight card to 9pm due to storm forecasts. The event marks another milestone in Dana White's extraordinary ascent within Trump's circle and the sport's mainstream acceptance. A notable wrinkle: the UFC announced it will pay fighters in cryptocurrency from a Trump-affiliated company, adding a financial dimension to the partnership between the fighting organization and the sitting president.
Officials delay start of fights to 9pm for storm forecast
UFC takes over White House lawn for seven-fight card
The stratospheric rise of the UFC’s Dana White
UFC to pay fighters in crypto from Trump company
Reach out to Bryan on Bluesky or by email
Donald Trump and UFC president Dana White have now made their entrance, emerging from the White House to a Color Guard from the “military district of Washington” in a scene that feels equal parts campaign rally, state ceremony and fight night. As the Zac Brown Band reaches the closing bars of the Star-Spangled Banner, a rare Super Delta formation flyover by the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds roars overhead, providing a display of American military might to match the scale of the occasion.
The four-man studio desk for the broadcast consists of former UFC champions Dominick Cruz, Chris Weidman and Michael Bisping alongside veteran play-by-play broadcaster Brendan Fitzgerald. Judging by the opening segment, they are also serving as tonight’s department of patriotism, a role embraced enthusiastically by all involved, including Bisping despite the minor complication of being English.
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