WASHINGTON — With plenty of spectacle, tens of thousands of attending fans, some narrowly averted weather threats, and U.S. President Donald Trump in attendance, UFC pulled off its controversial Freedom 250 event.
The seven-bout fight card proceeded as scheduled Sunday night, just avoiding the type of thunderstorm that produced the 75-minute weather delay before Friday’s often-bizarre press conference at the Lincoln Memorial. An often-lively crowd chanted and cheered through the humid evening’s action—both in a custom-made arena for 4,300 on the White House South Lawn and at the adjacent Ellipse, where another 85,000 were expected.
“The Claw”—the 92-foot apparatus that loomed over the White House, covered the octagon, and is the centerpiece of the setup—was fully illuminated for the evening, bringing an entirely different feel to The People’s House. Each fighter started his ceremonial walk-out to the octagon from inside the White House.
Before the fights began, Freedom 250 saw further disruption. MMA announcer Daniel Cormier posted on X, and then quickly deleted, a text exchange with Eric Trump in which the president’s son attempted to press him for inside betting information on the fight card, and even asked if any fights were “rigged.”
