The White House is to play host to a mixed martial arts bout on July 4 next year, the day the United States marks the 250th anniversary of its founding, UFC boss Dana White has said.
President Donald Trump has been a regular guest at the often-bloody contests, where fighters punch, kick and grapple with their opponents in a no-holds-barred battle to submission or knockout.
Bringing the brutal combat sport to the centre of US political power will mark a historic first.
“It is definitely going to happen,” White, a high-profile supporter of the US president, told CBS television on Tuesday. “I talked to him last night and I’m flying out there at the end of this month – and I’m going to sit down and walk him through all the plans and the renderings, and we’re going to start deciding what he wants and doesn’t want.”
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is the largest and most successful organisation in the burgeoning world of MMA, a blend of martial arts disciplines like jiu-jitsu, kickboxing, boxing and wrestling.
UFC CEO Dana White (centre) has been a huge supporter of Donald Trump (right). Photo: TNS
Bouts take place in an eight-sided ring – dubbed “The Octagon” – bounded by a chain-link fence.