{"id":474767,"date":"2026-06-13T03:21:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T03:21:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/474767\/"},"modified":"2026-06-13T03:21:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T03:21:15","slug":"logan-church-i-went-inside-trumps-ufc-arena-at-the-white-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/474767\/","title":{"rendered":"Logan Church: I went inside Trump\u2019s UFC arena at the White House"},"content":{"rendered":"

Corruption or a gift? <\/p>\n

In a country where everything seems to be changing by the day, one event has caused more conversation, more controversy and more criticism than perhaps anything else \u2013 the upcoming UFC fight on the White House Lawn<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The event is being held to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the USA<\/a>, we\u2019re told. But it\u2019s also on Donald Trump\u2019s birthday and will likely make his friends a lot of money, or so its critics say. <\/p>\n

I had to see this thing for myself. <\/p>\n

So, I woke up at 4.30am to make a call time of 5.40am at a downtown DC hotel, to be transported with a group of news media in two luxury shuttle buses the kilometre or so to the White House South Lawn guest entrance. <\/p>\n

Then came the two-hour security screening by the Secret Service \u2013 who, unlike my previous experiences with the agency \u2013 were lovely. They even wheeled out chilly bins filled with iced water in cans with \u2018freedom\u2019 stamped on the back. By this point it was 6.30am, and the temperature was in the high twenties. <\/p>\n

But the arena itself was… something else. <\/p>\n

\"At<\/p>\n

At night the Octagon Claw will be illuminated in red, white and blue, surrounding the crowd with stars and stripes. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n

It is a gigantic, monolithic structure. It towers about 7 metres above the White House and is directly in front of the residence’s exit to the South Lawn \u2013 identified by the Secret Service agent who rushed to me when I got too close. <\/p>\n

We, journalists, are often a hard group to impress, but speaking with those on this tour with me, it became obvious that no one \u2013 including those based in DC \u2013 had ever seen anything quite like it. <\/p>\n

Just meters from the White House, the superstructure begins. Grandstands built on scaffolding \u2013 4000 people can apparently sit and watch \u2013 and a raised platform for an orchestra too. The towering \u2018claw\u2019 soaring into the sky, laden with lights and a canvas roof that will provide some protection in a city that\u2019s been hit by rain much of the week. <\/p>\n

Cameras. Screens. Advertising. A fighting arena. The White House sitting behind. <\/p>\n

Several members of the public outside the White House complex didn’t mince their words when I spoke to them later on. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is disgusting, it is ostentatious, it is an exorbitant waste of money. It\u2019s an example of them wanting to provide bread and circuses \u2013 but without the bread,\u201d one woman told me out the front of the White House perimeter, behind a border fence that had been extended since Donald Trump returned to office. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe UFC on the South Lawn of the White House is the physical representation of what this government is doing to itself and the world right now, and I\u2019m ashamed.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The temporary seating around the Octagon will hold over 4,000 people. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Plenty of others spoke to me with similar views but wouldn\u2019t be interviewed on camera for fear of reprisal from their employer or government. <\/p>\n

Some in the UFC itself had similar views. At a recent press conference, fighter Bryce Mitchell said he understood \u2013 and supported – why the UFC leapt at the opportunity to have such a high-profile venue but took issue with the White House\u2019s involvement. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe government should not be hosting sporting events because there is room for corruption, and we have a corrupt government,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

I spoke to some of those expected to take to the arena this Monday, including Michael Chandler, in the lead-up to the event. I asked him about the political noise around the event and about those who think it shouldn\u2019t take place. <\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve got a message for those who take that stance but are MMA fans. You should, whether this fight is on the White House lawn or it’s anywhere, something of this magnitude; you should be celebrating because you’re a mixed martial arts fan. This is the biggest platform we could have ever asked for,\u201d Chandler told me. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf Dana [White, president of UFC] gets approached to do an event on the White House lawn, no matter who the president is, no matter what the administration is, whether it’s red or blue, left or right, he’s going to do it – just like I would if I was running this company,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut I think it’s a lot less political than people think. It’s a celebration of America, but there’s going to be people that you’re just not going to be able to convince that this is not political.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"Workers<\/p>\n

Workers continue building the cage for a future UFC fight on the South Lawn in front of the White House, Friday, June 5, 2026, in Washington. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Fighter Steve Garcia, who\u2019s opening the event facing Diego Lopes, had a blunter assessment. <\/p>\n

\u201cI’ll punch you whether you’re left, right, down the middle, I don’t care, I’m going to hit you, so it doesn’t matter,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I hope everybody else can come united and just be, you know, enjoying these fights for even just a few hours, you know what I mean? That’s what matters to me. I love my country, and I’m excited to get to represent my country.\u201d <\/p>\n

Walking the streets around the White House, I found people who were excited that something like this was happening. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s crazy, I never thought I’d ever see a fight on the White House lawn – I’m excited to see it,\u201d said Kayla, who\u2019d stopped by just to see the arena being built. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s kind of weird that\u2019s on the White House, but with Trump you never know what\u2019s going to happen. I find it funny… I\u2019m not disappointed by it.\u201d <\/p>\n

Two tourists from the UK \u2013 Andrew and Paula \u2013 thought it was somewhat \u2018disappointing\u2019. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is odd, everywhere you go around the White House there is fencing. The arena – it just feels very bizarre, I would say,\u201d said Paula. <\/p>\n

\"Construction<\/p>\n

Construction continues on the arena on the South Lawn of the White House for a future UFC mixed martial arts fight, Saturday, June 6, 2026, in Washington. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n

The White House framed this event differently today. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe White House is the people’s house. It belongs to the people, the United States,\u201d said US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio. <\/p>\n

“For them to be able to see this event with their White House in the background, as part of our celebration as a country and our 250 years, I think, as a gift to the American people. That’s what Sunday is about. It’s a gift to the American people.\u201d <\/p>\n

Whatever people may think, this event is taking place on Monday, New Zealand time. <\/p>\n

One group tried (and failed) to sue to stop it<\/a>, alleging \u2013 among other things \u2013 that government property was being used to enrich private organisations and individuals. <\/p>\n

It will certainly be a day that will go down in the history books.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Corruption or a gift? In a country where everything seems to be changing by the day, one event…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":474768,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[149073,65,42,43,64,40,38,41,39,66],"class_list":["post-474767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-combat-sports","tag-donald-trump","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-north-america","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-us-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474767","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=474767"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474767\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/474768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=474767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=474767"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=474767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}