{"id":500687,"date":"2026-06-15T12:17:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T12:17:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/500687\/"},"modified":"2026-06-15T12:17:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T12:17:08","slug":"big-name-celebrities-were-invited-to-trumps-ufc-white-house-event-very-few-turned-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/500687\/","title":{"rendered":"Big-name celebrities were invited to Trump\u2019s UFC White House event. Very few turned up"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Lessons<\/p>\n

Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and moreStay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more <\/p>\n

\"Lessons<\/p>\n

Despite reports that a roster of Hollywood stars had been invited to President Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s UFC<\/a> cage fight spectacle<\/a> at the White House<\/a>, Adam Sandler, Guy Ritchie and Tom Brady<\/a> \u2014 all rumored attendees \u2014 were no-shows on Sunday night.<\/p>\n

Jared Leto, Jason Statham<\/a>, Dwayne \u201cThe Rock\u201d Johnson and Saved By The Bell star Mario Lopez had also reportedly been invited to the mixed martial arts event<\/a> by UFC president and CEO Dana White<\/a>, but they were also absent at the event.<\/p>\n

While the unprecedented event was snubbed by the A-list crowd<\/a>, Mark Zuckerberg and British boxer Tyson Fury were notable names to make appearances at Trump\u2019s 80th birthday bash.<\/p>\n

Zuckerberg sat ringside, as did Trump\u2019s ally David Ellison, the Paramount Skydance chief executive. <\/p>\n

The Meta founder \u2014 who has deepened his relationship with Trump since his first term \u2014 was seen patting the president on the back as they greeted each other ringside.<\/p>\n

\"MetaMeta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg was seen patting the president on the back as they greeted each other ringside (AP)\"AdamAdam Sandler and Tom Brady were among the A-listers reportedly invited to Trump\u2019s UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House (Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Fury, the former world heavyweight champion, made an unbilled appearance, emerged from the Oval Office wearing a red and white cap that read \u201cDonald Trump for Prime Minister.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

People sitting near President Trump included White, the first lady, Melania Trump, and Ari Emanuel, the Hollywood agent and the chief executive of TKO Group, the parent company of the U.F.C.<\/p>\n

The UFC cage fight was staged on the White House\u2019s south lawn, where the administration erected a ring, seating for roughly 4,500, as well as a 92-ft-tall steel cage dubbed \u201cThe Claw\u201d to celebrate 250 years of American Independence. The event happened to coincide with the president\u2019s birthday.<\/p>\n

The claw was lit up in red, white and blue as troops and soldiers saluted the fighters, who performed their pre-fight ring walks from the dressing room inside the Oval Office, down the historical hallways of the White House.<\/p>\n

\"TrumpTrump is a close friend of UFC boss Dana White, who promised the greatest card in MMA history (AFP\/Getty)\"PresidentPresident Donald Trump shakes hands with America’s Josh Hokit during the UFC Freedom 250 (AFP\/Getty)<\/p>\n

Several Trump family members were spotted in the crowd, including the president\u2019s youngest son, Barron Trump. <\/p>\n

Trump is a close friend of Dana White, who promised the greatest card in MMA history. <\/p>\n

The event was opened by the country music group Zac Brown Band, with the Grammy-winning frontman singing the national anthem accompanied by the U.S. Marine Band.<\/p>\n

\"PresidentPresident Trump was joined by Melania ringside at the unprecedented boxing event (AP)<\/p>\n

Several fighters heaped praise on Trump and his MAGA movement throughout the event. Fighter Bo Nickal thanked Trump for \u201cmaking this happen,\u201d adding that it \u201ctakes such a special person to have the balls to do something like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

The poor turnout from the Hollywood crowd marks the latest Trump-linked event in celebration of America\u2019s 250th anniversary that has been turned down by celebrities.<\/p>\n

Last month, several musicians pulled out of performances at the Great American State Fair<\/a> after learning the event was sponsored by Freedom 250, a Trump-affiliated group. <\/p>\n

At least six of the nine music acts set to play the Freedom 250 concert series pulled out, including Bret Michaels, Young MC, the Commodores, Morris Day and the Time, and Martina McBride.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and moreStay ahead…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":500688,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[206858,321,93,61,60,178727,214269],"class_list":["post-500687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-america-250","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-mixed-martial-arts","tag-ultimate-fighting-championship"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500687","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=500687"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500687\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/500688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=500687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=500687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=500687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}