Cranes lifted giant metal arches into place Tuesday for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event on Trump's 80th birthday on June 14, AFP reporters saw."We're having a big fight. It's never going to happen again, never happened before," Trump said at an Oval Office event earlier this month, surrounded by four of the fighters taking part.Trump also showed off a picture of the so-called Octagon -- the eight-sided UFC ring bounded by a chain-link fence -- surrounded by seats against the backdrop of the White House.The billionaire Republican says 4,500 people will be able to watch on the lawn itself, with up to 100,000 people able to watch free on screens just outside the White House grounds.Trump himself is a UFC fan who has attended a series of fights, endearing himself to its core fanbase of young men -- a key demographic in the 2024 US election.The event has been dubbed "UFC Freedom 250," in reference to the United States' 250th anniversary celebrations this summer. It takes place on the US holiday of Flag Day -- which also happens to Trump's birthday.Fighters Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje will top the bill of six fights in a lightweight championship clash, the UFC announced in March.But the event has raised eyebrows, both for the cost and for its location on the historic White House lawn.UFC's parent company said in February the fight will cost at least $60 million to stage, but that it hoped to recoup around half that in corporate sponsorships and other sources.The White House said that the UFC is paying the entire cost. "No taxpayer money is being used," a White House official told AFP.'Load of money'Yet the extravagant event comes at a time when the United States is caught up in the war with Iran, which has caused oil prices and the cost of living for Americans to soar.Podcaster Joe Rogan, who hosted Trump on his show before the 2024 election, said in March that it would be "weird" to have a fight at the White House in the middle of a war. UFC boss Dana White denied the event was political, in an interview with Time magazine published Tuesday, and defended the expenditure.