Get ready to see some punches on the White House grounds.
President Trump says he will host a UFC mixed martial arts fight at the White House as part of next year’s festivities celebrating 250 years of American independence.
The idea came up during a Thursday night speech at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, one year and one day before the 250th anniversary of the 1776 ratification of the Declaration of Independence. The federal government is planning to mark the occasion with a year’s worth of events — including a UFC fight, according to Mr. Trump.
“We’re going to have some incredible events,” the president said. “Some professional events, some amateur events. But the UFC fight is going to be a big deal, too.”
Further details on the event, which is not lacking for possible names (the Rose Garden Fight Night? Oval Office Octagon?), are unclear. But the president is “dead serious” about the idea, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told a pool reporter on Thursday. A UFC spokesperson also confirmed the plans to CBS News.
Mr. Trump described it as a “championship fight, full fight” with 20,000 or 25,000 spectators — a tall order for the White House grounds, though Mr. Trump said, “we have a lot of land there.” He said longtime UFC CEO Dana White will organize the event.
The president’s ties to the UFC go back to at least 2001, when the Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City hosted the mixed martial arts enterprise. Since then, Mr. Trump has periodically attended UFC fights, including last month. The president is also close with White, who helped introduce Mr. Trump at last summer’s Republican National Convention and took the stage at Mr. Trump’s election night victory party.
Mr. Trump plugged a handful of other America250 events in his Thursday speech, including a “Great American State Fair,” a National Mall celebration and an athletic competition called the “Patriot Games.”
“I think it’s going to be a wild time,” Mr. Trump told reporters after returning to the D.C. area following the speech.
Joe Walsh is a senior editor for digital politics at CBS News. Joe previously covered breaking news for Forbes and local news in Boston.
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