{"id":2634,"date":"2026-06-14T04:06:51","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T04:06:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=2634"},"modified":"2026-06-14T04:06:51","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T04:06:51","slug":"crowds-flock-to-white-house-ellipse-for-fan-event-ahead-of-ufc-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=2634","title":{"rendered":"Crowds flock to White House Ellipse for fan event ahead of UFC fight"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<div> <div>\n<button>\n<strong>\n<span><svg>\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n<span>Summary<\/span>\n<\/strong>\n<span><svg><\/svg>\n<\/span>\n<span><svg><\/svg>\n<\/span>\n<\/button>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>Thousands gathered at the White House Ellipse for UFC Fan Fest 250.<\/li>\n<li>The festival previewed the mixed martial arts fights that will be hosted by President Donald Trump on the South Lawn.<\/li>\n<li>Organizers have allotted around 85,000 tickets for the public watch party in addition to 4,300 spots on the South Lawn.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div>\n<span>AI-generated summary was reviewed by a CNN editor.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n            It\u2019s not uncommon to see the US Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps perform on the White House grounds in their Revolutionary War-era uniforms. What is unusual is to see that performance just moments after a motocross jumping exhibition.\n    <\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=2630\">Judge orders Trump administration to restore signs changed at national parks<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n            Welcome to UFC Fan Fest 250.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            Thousands gathered on the White House Ellipse on Saturday for a festival celebrating all things Ultimate Fighting Championship, a preview of the mixed martial arts fights slated for Sunday evening on the South Lawn.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            Braving temperatures in the 90s, fans stood in long lines for meet and greets with UFC fighters. They waited in line to climb into a replica of a UFC \u201cOctagon\u201d for pictures. And they watched on a massive big screen and cheered, as motocross champion Travis Pastrana led a team of daredevils in high-flying stunts.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            The festivities come ahead of Sunday\u2019s UFC fight, hosted by President Donald Trump as part of celebrations leading up to America\u2019s 250th anniversary (and coinciding with his 80th birthday). While the fight has generated enthusiasm among MAGA allies and supporters, the expensive event is one of several personal projects drawing rebukes from Trump critics and skepticism from some Republicans.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            Organizers have allotted about 85,000 tickets for the general public at the Ellipse watch party, in addition to around 4,300 people who will be on the South Lawn.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            \u201cI\u2019m excited to be here. I like the atmosphere. I\u2019ve never been to a UFC event, so to be able to come here, especially on a free ticket, it\u2019s a dream come true,\u201d said Tyler Wood, a 27-year-old construction worker from Toronto who flew in for the event.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            Jacob Lyon, a 17-year-old recent high school graduate from upstate New York, drove about eight hours with a friend to the nation\u2019s capital. In addition to the long drive, they\u2019re lodging more than an hour away from DC, in Leonardtown, Maryland. But they say it\u2019s all worth it.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            \u201cI think that it\u2019s going to be probably the best UFC watch party of all time,\u201d Lyon said, adding that \u201cit\u2019s going to be truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.\u201d\n    <\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=2624\">Gen Zers are more risk-averse. Experts say it\u2019s ruining their dating lives<\/a><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-medium_large\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"UFC fighters Sean O'Malley and Aiemann Zahabi face off during a press conference at the Lincoln Memorial on June 12, 2026.\" class=\"wp-image-2633\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/339493e856d4e376b8ad129ce0a28602.jpg\" width=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/339493e856d4e376b8ad129ce0a28602.jpg 768w, https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/339493e856d4e376b8ad129ce0a28602-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<span>UFC fighters Sean O&#8217;Malley and Aiemann Zahabi face off during a press conference at the Lincoln Memorial on June 12, 2026.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<figcaption>Al Drago\/Getty Images<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n            Fans also weighed in on the controversies surrounding the UFC events, which kicked off Friday night with a press conference featuring the fighters at the Lincoln Memorial. Two Virginia residents filed an lawsuit last week seeking to block the UFC fight, but a judge rejected the bid Friday.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            \u201cThe Lincoln Memorial is sacred ground, and it honors everyone who has ever worn this country\u2019s uniform,\u201d one of the lawsuit\u2019s plaintiffs, Vietnam War veteran Paul Romano, said in a news release last week. \u201cUsing it as a backdrop for a for-profit cage fight so the President and his friends can make money is a desecration.\u201d\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            Logan Marshall, a 20-year-old college student, flew in from St. Louis to view the fights and doesn\u2019t see the event as controversial.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            \u201cI think it\u2019s part of history. I mean, the fighters walking down on the Lincoln Memorial is part of history. I mean, we\u2019ll never see that again, probably, and it was insane to see,\u201d Marshall told CNN.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            One concern surrounding the event: the weather. A line of thunderstorms is forecast to move through the DC area on Sunday afternoon, likely containing lightning and high wind gusts.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            \u201cIf it rains, we\u2019re going,\u201d Dana White, CEO of UFC, said previously. \u201cThe only thing that kills us is lightning. So, we could move the event two hours earlier, two hours after.\u201d\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            Jim Power, a UFC fan from Austin, Texas, was unfazed by the forecast.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            \u201cWe\u2019re kind of hoping for rain because Dana said they\u2019re gonna fight, rain or shine,\u201d he said as he waited in line Saturday to participate in a simulated UFC walkout. \u201cIt would be kind of cool to see fighters fighting in the rain. We don\u2019t think they\u2019ll really do it, but if it happens, that would be amazing.\u201d\n    <\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=2618\">Angst at the Supreme Court before a rush of decisions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thousands gathered on the White House Ellipse on Saturday for a festival celebrating all things Ultimate Fighting Championship, a preview of the mixed martial arts fights slated for Sunday evening on the South Law.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2631,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Crowds flock to White House Ellipse for fan event ahead of UFC fight - 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