Crews are building an octagon-shaped fighting cage on the South Lawn of the White House ahead of a June 14 Ultimate Fighting Championship event, according to Al Jazeera.
The fight card is part of a series of events tied to the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, and to President Donald Trump's 80th birthday. Online renderings show the completed wire-mesh-fence-ringed fight space surrounded by a red, white and blue stage under a towering arch with stars-and-stripes patterns and two large screens. Thousands of temporary seats will surround the cage and stage, including ringside space for a full marching band.
Trump said the finished project will feature "a 5,000-seat arena right outside the front door of the White House." Additional large screens broadcasting the fights will be set up at the nearby Ellipse, and the UFC said it plans to issue as many as 85,000 free tickets to accommodate spectators at both locations.
"I have never seen anybody want anything so much as people want those tickets," Trump said recently of demand to attend the event. "That's gonna be something."
The card has drawn criticism online from fans who called it underwhelming. It features just two championship fights. Brazil's Alex Pereira will meet France's Ciryl Gane for the interim UFC heavyweight title. Spanish-Georgian lightweight champion Ilia Topuria will then face interim champion Justin Gaethje. Gaethje is one of just two Americans who currently hold even a share of the UFC's 11 championship belts.
The South Lawn octagon is part of a broader construction push Trump has led at the White House. Other projects include tearing up part of the Rose Garden to make room for a patio space reminiscent of his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, adding partisan plaques to the colonnade wall for a Presidential Walk of Fame, renovating the toilet attached to the Lincoln Bedroom, and redoing the Palm Room.
Other planned semiquincentennial events include an IndyCar race passing by the White House and a Great American State Fair on the National Mall.
