President Donald Trump celebrated his 80th birthday on Sunday night with a unique event on the White House South Lawn. The UFC Freedom 250 spectacle drew an estimated 4,300 attendees, including about 1,200 active-duty service members. The evening kicked off with the Marine Band’s performance of the national anthem, sung by Zac Brown, and concluded with a flyover by the Navy’s Blue Angels and Air Force Thunderbirds.
UFC Event Details
The event featured 14 fighters from around the world, with two championship bouts. Ciryl Gane of France earned the interim UFC heavyweight title after a win over Brazil’s Alex Pereira, and lightweight champion Ilia Topuria fell to interim champ Justin Gaethje in four rounds. Many of the fighters thanked Trump for hosting the event, which was seen as a display of patriotism and American strength.
The $60 million event was the latest in Trump’s long-standing relationship with UFC CEO and president Dana White. White has a history with Trump, dating back to the first UFC event under his control in 2001 at Trump’s Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
