The real star of the UFC fight at the White House may be the Claw: a behemoth cage constructed for the Octagon

Donald Trump walked out to the strains of Kid Rock’s “American Bad Ass” and a roaring standing ovation just before he took a familiar cageside seat at a 2024 UFC event at Madison Square Garden. Long a fan of cage fighting before he entered the political arena, Trump has rooted on the bloodthirsty bouts and congratulated winners — he likes winners so much — for more than 25 years at UFC shows from Florida to New York to New Jersey. He’s just never had a home game. Trump’s next walkout will be the president’s shortest one yet, from the Oval Office to the Octagon for the implausible sports spectacle on the South Lawn of the White House billed as UFC Freedom 250. The mixed martial arts show on Sunday night that is streaming on Paramount+ is timed for Trump’s 80th birthday and the celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary. First there was the fight for independence! Now the biggest fight of ’em all is for the lightweight championship! Or something like that. Trump first publicly floated the idea of a UFC fight night at the White House at a July 2025 rally in Iowa and promised a “full fight” with 20,000 to 25,000 people. Some of the top stars in the sport lobbied — it is Washington, after all — for a spot on the card; Conor McGregor wrote on social media, “Count me in.” Count McGregor out. Same for Jon Jones and Ronda Rousey, who took her comeback match to Netflix rather than a date in Washington on UFC’s streaming service. As for those 25,000 fans on site, that’s a bit of a hyperbolic political speech from the president, with about 4,000-plus people expected at the temporary arena; but outside, up to 120,000 fans, who won free admission via lottery, are expected to watch in the open air at the Ellipse, a prominent public park south of the White House. The true star of the $60 million-plus show is the unprecedented setting where a cage was constructed on the traditional site of the Easter egg roll every spring. The White House