The solemn grandeur of the Lincoln Memorial served as a backdrop for President Donald Trump’s mixed martial arts spectacle happening this weekend, as burly fighters jogged past the iconic statue to the cheers of thousands of fans on Friday night.
A news conference two days before the big fight featured the athletes preparing for Sunday’s Octagon bouts, but also highlighted the fervent UFC fanbase who converged on Washington D.C., enduring challenging weather for the show.
The unusual event, marking the nation’s 250th anniversary and Trump’s 80th birthday, culminates in fights staged outside the White House. The UFC said it invested $60 million in the festivities, which the Republican president hailed as “the greatest show on earth.”
However, not everyone shared this enthusiasm. The watchdog group Public Integrity Project filed a lawsuit to halt the event on federal land, describing it as a “private, commercial, corrupt use of our most sacred national monuments for private gain.”
A federal judge, however, ruled on Friday that the White House could proceed.
Among the dedicated attendees were Tracy Philbeck and his son Levi, who traveled from Charlotte, North Carolina, to support American fighter Justin Gaethje in his lightweight title bout against Georgian Ilia Topuria.
“You will hear an eagle screaming when Justin Gaethje wins,” the elder Philbeck chuckled.
David Halstead, who journeyed from Albany, Western Australia, to witness the sport he has loved for a decade, credited Trump with having “put UFC on the map.”
Despite the visible political alignment of some fans, Ipsos Sports polling from February and March indicates that only about 1 in 10 U.S. adults consider themselves mixed martial arts fans, with the demographic skewing male, nonwhite, and more likely to identify as Republican than Democrat.
Ricardo Rodriguez, 24, challenged a common assumption, stating: “One misconception is that everyone who watches UFC is a Trump supporter, but that’s not the case,” he said. “People also expect a knock out every time.”
Ellie Louizes, who practices Muay Thai and jujitsu, drove from Daytona Beach, Florida, with her boyfriend, Jacob Purvis. While female fans of MMA are a minority, Louizes noted she knows many women who get into the sport through male partners, observing that “female fighters are often way more aggressive” than the men.
Fans brushed off the criticism about White House as host
The fans at the Lincoln Memorial brushed off criticism about the bouts being held at the White House.
Holding fights at the “People’s House,” Tracy Philbeck said, “goes back to the days of Teddy Roosevelt.”
Roosevelt regularly held sparring sessions at the White House, though they were not formal public prizefights. He was an enthusiastic amateur boxer who had boxed at Harvard and continued the sport throughout much of his life.
Boxing fans also make up a large part of the UFC’s fan base.
At a UFC-sponsored community event this week at the District of Columbia’s Midtown Youth Academy, the boxing gym’s executive director was helping out with a visit from UFC fighter Randy Brown, who sparred with more than dozen local teenagers and preteens.
Gloria Lee said meeting the fighter was a big deal for kids at her gym. “It’s just been a thrilling week, and I was about to fall out when he came in the door!” she said.
Asked about her personal UFC fandom, Lee said she had not watched it much. But by the end of Brown’s visit, she got into the ring with the professional fighter and threw some slugs of her own.
