A public interest law firm has filed a lawsuit seeking to stop the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s planned event on the White House South Lawn, arguing that federal officials improperly authorized the spectacle without required reviews and permitting.
The lawsuit, filed by the Public Integrity Project on behalf of a political activist and a Vietnam War veteran, challenges the UFC event scheduled for Sunday as part of celebrations tied to the United States’ 250th anniversary. The card is set to take place on Donald Trump’s birthday and would feature a mixed martial arts event in an Octagon on the South Lawn, with thousands of spectators expected at the nearby Ellipse.
“The President is giving [Dana] White and his company what none have enjoyed before: unfettered access to the White House and Lincoln Memorial to stage a private, for-profit sports event, with all the promotional and branding opportunities that accompany such access,” the lawsuit said, according to court filings cited by ABC News.
Calling the event “deeply corrupt,” the lawsuit argues that the Trump administration improperly relied on a temporary rule related to the America 250 celebrations to bypass standard permitting requirements for National Park Service land. “It is not in any material sense a ‘celebration of the 250th anniversary of American Independence’. It is, instead, a celebration of the UFC’s brand and the 80th anniversary of Donald Trump’s birth,” the lawsuit said. The filing also alleges that construction of a 600-tonne steel arch on the South Lawn should have undergone an environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act.
The plaintiffs are asking a federal judge to declare the authorisation for the event unlawful. The lawsuit also alleges that Trump and his allies stand to profit from the event, citing Trump’s ownership of stock in UFC parent company TKO Group Holdings, the sale of UFC VIP packages priced at more than $1 million, sponsorship arrangements involving an overseas cryptocurrency exchange, and the event’s distribution through the UFC’s broadcast partner Paramount Skydance. The legal challenge comes after several previous lawsuits targeting Trump-backed construction and renovation projects in Washington produced mixed results in federal court.
The fight card, dubbed ‘Freedom 250’, is set to be headlined by a lightweight title bout between champion Ilia Topuria and interim titleholder Justin Gaethje.
