Workers are erecting an octagonal fighting cage on the South Lawn of the White House, where the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will hold a match next month to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States and the 80th birthday of President Donald Trump.
Online images show the completed fighting space, surrounded by chain-link fencing, set to appear at the event on June 14. The octagon will be placed on a red, white and blue stage, with a tall canopy featuring stars-and-stripes motifs and two large screens broadcasting live action.
Thousands of temporary seats will surround the fighting cage and stage, including a section near the octagon reserved for a full marching band, which could energize the crowd with live music.
The project is part of a series of events marking the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Other planned activities include an IndyCar race passing by the White House and the Great American State Fair on the National Mall.
President Trump said the completed UFC setup would feature “a 5,000-seat arena right in front of the White House.”
Additional large screens showing the fights will be placed in a park near the Ellipse, and UFC says it plans to distribute up to 85,000 free tickets for viewers at both locations.
“I have never seen people want something as much as they want those tickets,” Trump said recently about demand for the UFC event, adding, “It is going to be something.”
The fight card has drawn online criticism from fans for lacking star power, featuring only two championship bouts. Brazil's Alex Pereira will face France's Ciryl Gane for the UFC interim heavyweight title. Then Spanish-Georgian lightweight champion Ilia Topuria will take on interim champion Justin Gaethje, one of two Americans currently holding at least a share of UFC's 11 belts.
The octagon and surrounding structures are the latest in a series of White House construction projects spearheaded by President Trump.
Other efforts by the president include tearing up part of the Rose Garden to create a courtyard reminiscent of his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, affixing partisan plaques on hallway walls for a Presidential Walk of Fame, renovating the bathroom attached to the Lincoln Bedroom and refurbishing the Palm Room, adding additional flagpoles on the North and South Lawns, and demolishing the entire East Wing to build a large ballroom.
The president also wants to repaint the neighboring Eisenhower Executive Office Building and build a 250-foot (76-meter) arch near the Lincoln Memorial — the same site where organizers plan to hold the weigh-in for the upcoming UFC fight.
