{"id":424,"date":"2026-06-12T16:06:25","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T16:06:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/northcarolinamovingjournal.com\/?p=424"},"modified":"2026-06-12T16:06:25","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T16:06:25","slug":"corporate-logos-abound-on-white-house-grounds-in-prep-for-fights-by-trump-allied-ufc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/northcarolinamovingjournal.com\/?p=424","title":{"rendered":"Corporate logos abound on White House grounds in prep for fights by Trump-allied UFC"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The Las Vegas-based Ultimate Fighting Championship company, whose chief executive is an ally of the president\u2019s, will stage the seven-fight card that has drawn curiosity, outrage, a legal challenge and lots of money.<\/p>\n

Read more Merger oversight out, but whistleblower protections and CEO pay caps remain in NC hospital bill<\/a><\/p>\n

The organization, led by Dana White, who delivered primetime speeches for Trump at the last three Republican National Conventions, is expecting over 65,000 fans at the two-day festival on the Ellipse beginning Saturday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The event reportedly cost $60 million, according to a government court\u00a0. VIP sponsorship packages, including a chance to sit cage-side under \u201cthe claw\u201d on the lawn of what\u2019s often referred to as \u201cThe People\u2019s House,\u201d could cost up to the widely reported price tag of $1.5 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Corporate organizers were laying finishing touches this week on a 92-foot red, white and blue structure that towers over the White House and reaches a radius around the fighting \u201coctagon\u201d \u2014 still under protective covering \u2014 to fit roughly 4,300 exclusive seats.<\/p>\n

Space for tens of thousands more spectators who can watch the fights on large screens is designated on the Ellipse, which will be open only to ticketholders and UFC-approved media. Up to 120,000 fans who scored free tickets in a lottery are expected, according to the administration. Additionally, the administration has invited 1,000 members of the armed services.<\/p>\n

The event, which is billing itself as \u201cUFC Freedom 250,\u201d is not affiliated with the national nonpartisan organization America 250, a commission created by Congress to mark the nation\u2019s\u00a0semiquincentennial.<\/p>\n

A June 10 promotional UFC article described the event as a \u201ccelebration of how far mixed martial arts has come and how deeply the UFC has embedded itself into mainstream sports and culture.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The main card will feature\u00a0lightweight title champion Ilia Topuria up against interim champion Justin Gaethje and a heavyweight title fight between Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane.<\/p>\n

The advertising blitz on grounds owned by the federal government has inspired accusations of corruption. Brendan Ballou, founder of the Public Integrity Project, which is suing to stop the event, said the main purpose is \u201cto enrich the President and his friends.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Corporate tie-ins<\/h4>\n

The event has provided corporate advertising opportunities, including for companies with close ties to Trump, and \u201ccame together by special invite from the President of the United States,\u201d according to UFC\u2019s press materials.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dodge and Crypto.com are primary sponsors. Dodge is heavily promoting its line of Ram trucks at the event and Crypto.com will offer a $1 million in Cronos, the company\u2019s digital currency, bonus pool to the evening\u2019s top fighters.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The fight will stream on Paramount Plus, the platform owned by Paramount Skydance, the mega-media company whose high-profile 2025\u00a0merger the Trump administration approved. UFC recently reached a $7.7 billion deal with the streamer giving it exclusive streaming rights for seven years.<\/p>\n

The White House collaborated with sports apparel company Fanatics to create an exclusive \u201cUSA 250\u201d patch and logo that will be featured on fighters\u2019 uniforms and on merchandise for sale, according to the UFC.<\/p>\n

An Ultimate Fighting Championship cage, or \u201coctagon,\u201d on the White House South Lawn on Thursday, June 11, 2026. (Video by Ashley Murray\/States Newsroom)\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The \u201cOctagon girls,\u201d scantily clad young women who are fight mainstays and\u00a0promoted by the company, \u201cwill wear a variety of custom outfits that will align with the overall theme of UFC FREEDOM 250 and further celebrate America\u2019s history,\u201d according to press materials.<\/p>\n

Trump has made no secret of his support for the MMA fight promotion company owned by his friend. He began promising a UFC fight on the White House lawn while on the campaign trail in 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more North Carolina\u2019s Senate race no longer a toss-up, top forecasters say, with Cooper in the lead<\/a><\/p>\n

The president purchased between $15,000 and $50,000 of stock in TKO Group Holdings, UFC\u2019s parent company, in March, according to public reporting and court filings.<\/p>\n

In April, as Vice President JD Vance was in Pakistan wrapping up failed peace negotiations to end the U.S.-Iran war, Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio\u00a0appeared together at a UFC cage match in Miami.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A press conference is scheduled for the event Friday at the Lincoln Memorial and the Georgia-based Zac Brown Band is set to perform Saturday night, according to a court\u00a0 from the government.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Block attempt<\/h4>\n

Critics have panned the event as a \u201ccorrupt scheme,\u201d and some are hoping for a last-minute court order to stop the event altogether.<\/p>\n

The nationwide anti-Trump organization No Kings has partnered with the Committee for the First Amendment to host and livestream a concert from New York City that will feature Patti Smith, Rufus Wainwright and Bette Midler.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The groups are encouraging people to organize watch parties for the concert, which will occur at the same time as the \u201cUFC cage fight spectacle,\u201d No Kings organizers said in a statement.<\/p>\n

The Public Integrity Project, an anti-corruption advocacy organization, is backing two Virginians who say the National Park Service and the Department of the Interior are illegally lending out the public land for a massive event without permission from Congress and necessary environmental reviews.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf this fight is allowed to proceed, it will be only the beginning, and our national monuments will become little more than branding opportunities for the rich and well-connected. We plan to stop that,\u201d Ballou said in a statement June 6 upon filing the lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.<\/p>\n

The plaintiffs, a Vietnam War veteran and a civic activist, requested an emergency order from the court to halt the fight while the case plays out.<\/p>\n

Legal decision coming\u00a0<\/h4>\n

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, an Obama appointee, issued an order Thursday stating he would not schedule an emergency hearing but rather decide based on written briefs.<\/p>\n

In its response, the Trump administration dismissed the lawsuit as meritless, and noted that it did not name UFC as a defendant. Department of Justice lawyers wrote the plaintiffs are \u201ctwo individuals: one who plans to walk past the event (intentionally \u2018coming to the nuisance\u2019) and another who might happen to drive past it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo Plaintiffs with idiosyncratic preferences cannot use equity to upend an event of this cost and magnitude at the last minute and spoil the evenings of tens of thousands of other Americans who wish to celebrate their pride in their country in a manner that Plaintiffs disdain,\u201d the DOJ argued.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one is holding Plaintiffs in a jiu jitsu lock, forcing them to watch UFC Freedom 250 against their will,\u201d the brief continued. \u201cThe public interest does not favor allowing them to exercise a heckler\u2019s veto, particularly at this late date.\u201d<\/p>\n

The White House, which has referred all questions about the event to the UFC, did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Mehta\u2019s decision to not hold a hearing.<\/p>\n

The UFC did not respond to questions, including a request for comment on the pending lawsuit, the cost of the event and sponsorship packages, how many tickets have been sold and if the organization has a weather contingency plan for possible storms.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more Trump says \u2018great settlement\u2019 of Iran war in the works, signing ceremony soon<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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