WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump marked his 80th birthday Sunday night with a celebration on the South Lawn, where 14 fighters from around the world battered one another inside a wire-mesh cage during the UFC Freedom 250 spectacle.
Trump walked out of the Oval Office at around 8:30 p.m. ET alongside UFC CEO and president Dana White in what was best described as a fighter’s walkout.
The estimated 4,300 in attendance, which included about 1,200 active-duty service members, greeted the president with loud cheers as the occasional “Happy Birthday” was shouted from the crowd.
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The event kicked off with the Marine Band’s performance of the national anthem, sung by Zac Brown, and was capped off with a flyover by the Navy’s Blue Angels and Air Force Thunderbirds.
“It was beyond anything that anybody’s ever seen in sports,” the president briefly remarked to reporters as he departed the White House ahead of Monday’s G7 summit in France.
As expected, the crowd often broke out into “U-S-A!” chants multiple times throughout the evening. It was most often heard during American Justin Gaethje’s thrilling main-card win over the previously undefeated Ilia Topuria.
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Many of the fighters thanked Trump for having the “courage” to put on the spectacle, while the majority of victors jogged ringside to shake his hand or have a word after their respective bouts. The patriotic atmosphere set the tone for the remaining America 250 celebrations to come in Washington, D.C., later this summer.
The $60 million event was just the latest spectacle in Trump’s relationship with White.
White has a long-standing relationship with the president, dating back to the first UFC event under his control which was held in 2001 at Trump’s Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He has stumped on the campaign trail for Trump on two occasions while Trump has attended four UFC fights as a sitting president.
Sunday’s fight wrapped just after 1 a.m. and featured 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.
Justin Gaethje def. Ilia Topuria via stoppage before Round 5
Ciryl Gane def. Alex Pereira via TKO, Round 2
Sean O’Malley def. Aiemann Zahabi via KO, Round 2
Josh Hokit def. Derrick Lewis via TKO, Round 2
Mauricio Ruffy def. Michael Chandler via KO/TKO, Round 1
Bo Nickal def. Kyle Daukaus via KO/TKO, Round 1
Diego Lopes def. Steve Garcia via KO/TKO, Round 2
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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