The politicization of Sunday’s UFC fights on the White House’s South Lawn was unavoidable. But fans at the weekend’s festivities on the Ellipse offered a different perspective, with many saying they saw the event as unifying and a celebration of the continued legitimization of mixed martial arts.
Tens of thousands of UFC fans spent their weekend hunting for shade on the Ellipse as they celebrated Sunday night’s Freedom 250 event with a fan festival a quarter of a mile south of Sunday night’s cage matches.
It was as close as the estimated 80,000 fans could get. In-person attendance for the fights themselves, which were set to include bouts for the lightweight championship and the interim heavyweight title, was limited to just 4,300 spectators. About 2,300 attendees were active-duty members of the military to commemorate the 250th anniversary of American independence.
Various VIPs filled the remaining 2,000 seats, including President Trump and members of his administration. Mr. Trump, who celebrated his 80th birthday on Sunday, was given 1,000 tickets to divvy out as he saw fit. UFC President Dana White and Ari Emanuel, the head of UFC parent company TKO, each received a few hundred seats to fill.
The fans didn’t seem to mind the selective ticket distribution. Despite the District’s typically sweltering summer temperatures, they turned out in force to watch the fights together on large screens set up near the Lincoln Memorial.
“The overall vibe is really good,” said Jake Hillhouse, a fervent UFC fan who attended the Ellipse festivities. “It’s a good energy; they’ve been doing meet-and-greets and other things. That was cool.”
The meet-and-greets featured current and former UFC fighters, including former lightweight champion Dustin Poirier and former women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate and WWE star “The Miz.” The event’s sponsors arrived with photo ops, mechanical bulls and machines to test the strength of punches and slaps.
With in-person attendance for the bouts out of reach, the UFC’s die-hards were glad to gather for a watch party. One attendee compared the Ellipse experience to attending a game in the nosebleeds of a more traditional venue.
“It’s just like every sporting event. You go to Madison Square Garden; the floor tickets for a basketball game or UFC event or a hockey game are, bar none, thousands of dollars,” Hillhouse said. “So, of course, an event on the White House lawn is going to be very exclusive. There’s going to be a lot of political figures at the front of the line.”
There was no denying the political presence at the fan festivities. Advertisements for Turning Point USA, the activist group for young conservatives founded by Charlie Kirk, played on screens throughout the Ellipse. “Make America Great Again” hats in various colors and styles dominated the scene alongside plenty of star-spangled apparel.
“There’s a lot of politicization of this event, a lot of controversy,” said Warren Welsh, a UFC fan who paired his red “MAGA” hat with a Philadelphia Eagles jersey. “But I feel like there’s a lot of unity here. People are coming together to enjoy the festivities. But at the same time, you could tell there’s a lot of subconscious strife.”
Any simmering misgivings didn’t dampen the atmosphere for fans who were willing to drop $12 for a beer, $28 for a margarita or $90 for an event-specific jersey. They gladly braved the scalding sun and intermittent threats of rain to celebrate the UFC’s unprecedented time in the spotlight. It offered combat sports fans a sense of vindication after decades as a second-tier sport.
As a result, many fans and performers downplayed political messaging at the event. Country music artist Zac Brown, who headlined the fan festival on Saturday and performed the national anthem ahead of Sunday’s main event, told “The Pat McAfee Show” last week that he was inspired by “patriotism, not politics.”
“UFC is an American sport. It’s all about America,” Hillhouse said. “So, having it on the White House lawn, you’re going to get your political fashions, whether you’re blue, left, whatever. But it’s a monumental moment for the whole sport of MMA.”
The event extended beyond politics for the UFC, which has long counted the president as one of its most visible fans. The brand invested $60 million into the year’s most discussed combat sports event, 25 years after White said he intended to turn the label into “the Super Bowl of mixed martial arts.”
That dream became a reality on Sunday.
Federal security officials categorized the Freedom 250 UFC card as a Level 1 event, on par with the NFL’s championship.
“It’s huge for the brand,” White said of the White House fights. “People are talking about this thing all over the world.”
— This article is based in part on wire service reports.
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