For the second year in a row, President Donald Trump commemorated his birthday with a bizarre spectacle in Washington, D.C.

After an inclement weather delay, Trump’s UFC extravaganza kicked off Sunday evening with a bout between two featherweight fighters who made their entrances from the White House.

The opening underscored the strangeness of the gathering, which marked the rare use of the White House for a professional sports competition and for a function hosted by a private company. Trump has faced criticism for promoting such events at the White House and for backing an exhibition that’s expected to benefit numerous commercial interests, including the UFC and Paramount.

Additionally, the fight has drawn scrutiny, given the emphasis Trump placed on it while grappling with other major issues, including a struggling economy and the effort to finalize a deal to end the U.S. war on Iran.

Just hours before the main card of “UFC Freedom 250” was set to begin, Trump said that an agreement with Iran was “now complete,” though it isn’t expected to be formally signed until Friday. According to a Reuters report, France also pushed back the G7 summit to allow Trump to attend the cage fight on the White House lawn.

Last year, Trump held a military parade for his birthday, which featured tanks and rocket launchers rolling down the streets of the capital.

Sunday’s fight also included large displays, including the construction of a massive 92-foot, 600-ton fighting ring called “The Claw” that towered over the White House on the South Lawn. That venue, which was covered in flashing red, white and blue lights, sat roughly 4,000 guests on Sunday evening. Service members wearing colonial attire could also be seen lining the entrance from the White House to the “Octagon,” the trademark eight-sided cage that UFC fighters use.

“The South Lawn has served as one of the most important and ceremonial spaces in American history,” a UFC commentator said as part of a streaming broadcast on Paramount+. “Now, the Octagon is part of that history.”

All told, there were seven mixed martial arts match-ups, including a face-off between Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje for the lightweight title.

Much of the audience was comprised of military service members and Trump allies, including Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who has frequented past UFC matches. Trump was also seen watching the fight alongside members of his family, Vice President JD Vance and UFC President Dana White, a longtime supporter.

The UFC exhibition has been nearly a year in the making and underscores Trump’s deep ties with the mixed martial arts company and its leadership.

Trump first floated the idea in July 2025 during a kickoff for activities commemorating America’s 250th birthday. He’s also been friends with White, who has repeatedly backed his presidential runs and welcomed him ringside at past matches, for years. According to PBS, White also played a role in influencing podcaster Joe Rogan, who was once a UFC color commentator, to throw his backing behind Trump.

More recently, Trump’s brokerage account purchased shares in TKO Holdings, UFC’s parent company, raising questions about whether he could personally see gains from holding the fight on the White House lawn. The Trump organization has said the president had no control over the transaction, and the White House has also denied any conflict of interest.

Branding for various companies was omnipresent at the fight on Sunday, with logos adorning the venue itself and one bout sponsored by Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social.

The staging of the cage match at the White House was also previously met with widespread opposition.

It recently drew a court challenge from the Public Integrity Project, which described the fight as “corrupt” and argued that the administration needed congressional approval for construction related to the UFC event. Last week, a judge ultimately ruled that the fight could proceed.

According to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll, just 16% of Americans said it was appropriate for Trump to use the White House grounds for this event.

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