President Donald Trump turned 80 on Sunday and was set to celebrate with one of the more surreal spectacles both in sports and even in the nation’s capital: cage fighting on the White House lawn. The event, which featured seven fights with all male fighters under the Freedom 250 banner, was held to celebrate Trump’s 80th birthday and the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence’s signing.

UFC Event Details

The fight card headlined by two title fights on Paramount+ was scheduled to start at 8 p.m. Eastern. More than $60 million and tens of thousands of hours of labor have been poured into building the arena, according to a court filing from the National Park Service, which oversees the South Lawn.

UFC CEO Dana White introduced Trump at two Republican National Conventions. White also attended the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in April that was cut short by a shooting. The relationship between UFC CEO Dana White and Trump has yielded personal, political and financial dividends for both parties in a relationship that goes back 25 years.

Alex Pereira of Brazil will meet Ciryl Gane of France for the interim UFC heavyweight title. Spanish-Georgian lightweight champion Ilia Topuria then takes on interim champ Justin Gaethje, one of just two Americans who currently hold even a share of the UFC’s 11 championship belts.

Original reporting: Dallas TX News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.