WASHINGTON — Construction workers are busy installing a temporary but elaborate project on the White House grounds that’s unlike anything seen before at the presidential residence.
An eight-sided fighting arena is being assembled on the South Lawn to accommodate a UFC event scheduled for next month, serving as part of the country’s 250th anniversary celebration and President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday.
Digital mockups show the planned appearance of the wire-mesh-enclosed combat area before the June 14 event. The fighting space will be encircled by a patriotic red, white and blue platform beneath a massive archway decorated with star and stripe designs and two jumbo screens broadcasting the action in real time.
The arena and platform will be encircled by thousands of temporary bleachers, including front-row areas designated for a complete marching band that will provide loud musical accompaniment to the entire spectacle.
This construction represents one element of multiple events planned to commemorate the semiquincentennial of when the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776. Additional scheduled activities include an IndyCar race route that will travel past the White House and the Great American State Fair happening on the National Mall.
Trump has described the completed UFC installation as featuring “a 5,000-seat arena right outside the front door of the White House.” Extra jumbo screens showing the matches will be positioned in a park at the nearby Ellipse, with the UFC planning to distribute up to 85,000 complimentary tickets for viewers at both venues.
“I have never seen anybody want anything so much as people want those tickets,” Trump said recently regarding attendance demand for the UFC event, adding, “That’s gonna be something.”
Online fans have criticized the fight lineup as disappointing, with only two title matches scheduled. Brazil’s Alex Pereira will face France’s Ciryl Gane for the interim UFC heavyweight title. Then Spanish-Georgian lightweight champion Ilia Topuria takes on interim champ Justin Gaethje, one of just two Americans who currently hold even a share of the UFC’s 11 championship belts.
The eight-sided ring and accompanying infrastructure represent the newest addition to the White House construction surge Trump is overseeing.
The president’s additional efforts to create his legacy include removing portions of the Rose Garden to create patio areas similar to his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida, installing partisan plaques along the colonnade wall for a Presidential Walk of Fame, remodeling the bathroom connected to the Lincoln Bedroom and updating the Palm Room, adding new flag poles to the north and south lawns and completely demolishing the East Wing for an expansive ballroom.
The president also plans to repaint the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next to the White House and construct a 250-foot arch at the nearby Lincoln Memorial — the same location where weigh-ins for the upcoming UFC event are scheduled to occur, according to event organizers.
