UFC’s White House Event Faces Lawsuit as Trump Prepares for Historic Fight Night

A UFC card scheduled for the White House’s South Lawn is moving ahead under intense scrutiny, with organizers and federal agencies having already spent tens of millions of dollars on a setup that could still be blocked by court action. The event, set for late Saturday night into Sunday in Israel, would place an octagon on the South Lawn with 4,000 spectators inside the venue and another 120,000 fans watching from the nearby Ellipse by lottery ticket.

According to a filing by the National Park Service, more than 60 million dollars and tens of thousands of work hours have already gone into preparations, funded by the UFC and related entities. The buildout began on May 20, and the Secret Service worked with UFC staff to inspect 20 to 30 equipment trucks and screen 700 to 900 workers arriving daily. Seven federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Aviation Administration, have committed significant personnel and resources.

The event is facing a federal lawsuit filed Saturday by the Public Integrity Project on behalf of two Virginia residents. The suit argues that President Donald Trump’s approval of the fight violates National Park Service rules banning sporting events on federal parkland. Lawyer Brendan Bell called it “corrupt use of our nation’s most sacred sites for private gain.”

The Park Service rejected the claim while defending the planning effort, writing that “all these hopes could be shattered at the last minute” because of “a whim of two people” who believe they know better and want to ruin the event. If the card goes ahead, Trump is expected to fly to France for the G7 summit after the fights, and dismantling of the White House structures is set to begin the next day. The installations are due to be fully removed by June 23.