The Defense Department is recruiting hundreds of U.S. troops to attend the UFC event scheduled to be held on the south lawn of the White House on June 14, the Washington Post reports.
Soldiers solicited to be spectators will be expected to pay for their own travel and accommodations to the event, and expected to meet height and weight requirements established by the Pentagon, according to internal memos obtained by the Post.
The troops being recruited to attend the event, promoted as UFC Freedom 250, are junior enlisted personnel and junior officers, who comprise the U.S. military’s lowest pay grades. The Defense Department is making clear to those being asked to attend that their travel costs are “member-procured” with neither the military nor the UFC funding travel and lodging costs.
A message posted to social media for U.S. Air Force personnel indicated that anyone attending are required to meet height and waist requirements, in addition to passing physical fitness test requirements. Troops must wear short-sleeve dress uniforms and will watch the event in standing-room only sections. Only uniformed personnel are allowed to attend and cannot bring family members.
UFC CEO Dana White expects approximately 4,000 people to watch the event on the White House lawn. Thousands of other spectators will watch from a nearby viewing party.
White also said that UFC Freedom 250 will cost the company about $30 million to stage and would be a money-losing enterprise. Among the expenses are installing temporary seats, repairs to any damaged grass on the lawn, and a canopy constructed to light the matches, built 87 feet above the Octagon to ensure that the White House would be visible during the telecast.
“This is basically me spending a s***load of money to celebrate the 250th birthday of America, with America and the rest of the world,” White told Time magazine.
The seven-fight card for UFC Freedom 250 will feature a lightweight championship bout between Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje, in addition to a heavyweight interim title match pitting Alex Pereira versus Ciryl Gane.
No women’s matches will be part of the event, though White told Time magazine that he tried to arrange a title bout between China’s Zhang Weili and American-Brazilian fighter Mackenzie Dern in hopes of attracting a larger international audience. However, Zhang is taking time away from fighting, White said.
About the Author
