UFC arena under construction on White House lawn to mark Trump’s 80th birthday

Construction is under way on the White House lawn for an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) arena that will host a cage match next month to mark the US’s 250th anniversary and Donald Trump’s 80th birthday. The mixed martial arts fight is planned for 14 June. Photos of cranes and other construction equipment on the White House lawn Tuesday show the beginnings of the temporary construction. Trump has said that the finished project will feature “a 5,000-seat arena right outside the front door of the White House”. Online renderings depict what the completed, wire-mesh-fence-ringed fight space is expected to look like. The octagon-shaped cage will be ringed by a red, white and blue stage under a towering arch featuring stars and stripes patterns and two large screens carrying the action live. Equipment is seen being placed on the South Lawn of the White House on 26 May. Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein/AP The cage and stage will themselves be surrounded by thousands of temporary seats, including ringside space for a full marching band that can set the entire scene to blaring music. Trump first floated the idea of hosting a UFC fight on the White House grounds last year, during an appearance in Idaho on 4 July 2025 when he announced festivities planned to celebrate the country’s 250th birthday on 4 July 2026. “Think of this on the grounds of the White House. …