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FIFA World Cup guideUFC at The White House: Spectacle, absurdity and a knockout success
Stephen Foote • June 15th, 2026 5:37 pm
Diego Lopes celebrates his win at UFC Freedom 250 | Photo: UFC
Approximately two years after I'd dismissed the concept of the UFC hosting an event on the lawn of The White House as an absurd fever dream, here we were. Hosting a UFC event on the lawn of The White House.
The word of the day has definitely been 'surreal'. Everything about this astounding, eye-rubbing, head-shaking visual has been precisely that.
The Octagon resplendent in the night sky - illuminated by 'The Claw' - Michael Chandler genuinely running away from Mauricio Ruffy to avoid decapitation (in vain, I might add) while 'Te Whare Ma' glistened in the backdrop.
President Donald Trump watching on listlessly like a man desperate to blow out the 80 candles on his birthday cake and head to bed, humouring every victorious fighter with a handshake. Ilia Topuria going through warm-ups inside the Oval Office, before his opponent Justin Gaethje began his Octagon walk reading what appeared to be the Declaration of Independence on the wall next to Trump's desk.
It was like a deleted scene from Mike Judge's 'Idiocracy' - a scene deemed too far fetched to be included in the final cut. But it was undoubtedly a spectacle. A modern-day Roman Empire acid trip.
Patriotism and propaganda was always going to be the order of the day, and it was a red, white, and blue MURICA fest dialled up to 11.
Donald Trump and UFC Dana White opened proceedings with a triumphant red carpet entrance, their steps tracked every step of the way as if they were about to strip off their suits to reveal Venum fight kits and have their mouthguards checked.
But somehow, they toed that razor-thin line of poor taste and pulled off a remarkably delicate balancing act. And dare I say it, the experience in its entirety was exceptionally entertaining.
The scheduled start of the fights was delayed due to rain but - much to the UFC's enormous relief - the early forecast of potentially catastrophic thunderstorms and high winds never really eventuated and emergency tarp stayed tucked underneath the canvas.
As predicted, we got the supersized Star Spangled Banner combo to kick off proceedings - the bald eagle, the military flyover and Zac Brown Band's rendition of the anthem.
For all of the production bells and whistles - the gleaming red and blue (obviously) light rigs, red and blue trunks (regardless of nationality), the red and blue custom Octagon girl fits, the red and blue animated LED entranceways, the red and blue ceremonial title belts, the highlight had to be the Marine Corps band.
An array of vocalists joined the stage to accompany all of the fighters with the orchestral version of their chosen walkout tune, arguably peaking with Josh Hokit's 'Real American'. Hulk Hogan, you know the one.
It was a gargantuan homework task that had to be admired. Unfortunately, they had to draw the line at Aiemann Zahabi's selection of Drake's 'Started from the Bottom'. Maybe it was a Canadian thing.
There was even a rendition of the seminal Village People hit 'YMCA', but much to all of our disappointment, Trump did not oblige with the dance accompaniment.
The commentary crew were positively giddy with excitement. Joe Rogan - sporting a comically short tie (mid-buckle Joe, come on) resembled a televangelist. Daniel Cormier - who embroiled himself in an Eric Trump AI gambling controversy on fight day - was really feeling the humidity levels in DC. Yes, pun-intended.
We had a bizarre Tyson Fury cameo, where his brief and completely unenlightening chat with Jon Anik belied his grandiose entrance. He will be fighting someone soon, apparently. Thanks Tyson.
They announced Mark Zuckerberg - sitting Octagon-side - would be giving every troop in America a free pair of Meta glasses. I guess he had to do something with all of that stock clogging up his driveway.
And on a related note, we got a lot of AI. A whole heap of AI. Some of the great scenes in American history recreated in glorious (or not) artificial splendour. Not even Ronald Reagan was safe. The montages came thick and fast.
As for the actual fights undeniably delivered on the occasion. They played out - with one monumental exception - very much as predicted by oddsmakers and pundits, but that's not to say they weren't immensely enjoyable. In fact, the matchmakers would probably admit they couldn't have scripted them better.
All seven bouts finished inside the distance via TKO. Diego Lopes opened proceedings by slumping Steve Garcia, then leapt atop the cage in a scene that may become the enduring image of the event.
Bo Nickal ended Kyle Daukaus with a clinical one-two. As alluded to earlier, Ruffy spinning backheeled Chandler into retirement (hopefully).
Hokit flattened Derrick Lewis then sparked an internet uproar by accusing former First Lady Michelle Obama of being "a man" in what was once her backyard. Sean O'Malley lanced Zahabi with a walk-off left hand then hit the salute emote.
The headliners rounded out proceedings with fitting drama.
After he'd unleashed his trademark arrow on the presidential steps, Alex Pereira's train to an historic third division title was emphatically derailed by Cyril Gane, the Frenchman battering the Brazilian access the mat before Herb Dean eventually had to intervene.
But the main event was truly the piece de resistance.
Almost universally written off, cult hero Justin Gaethje forced the Spanish resistance (Topuria) to wave the white flag after a four-round beating absolutely nobody by the American himself saw coming, unifying the lightweight championship in one of the biggest title upsets in recent history, then backflipping onto an eagle's back and soaring in to the night over the tens of thousands of fans watching at the Ellipse to relentless chants of 'U.S.A! U.S.A!'.
Make what you will of the morality of the occasion, the UFC shot for the stars - and you'd have to say, it came off.
And all of that without the barest of mentions of Conor McGregor.
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