President Donald Trump has interesting plans for his 80th birthday: with a UFC fight on the White House lawn. Yes, really. The Trump administration has talked about this controversial event before but had not set a date. Now, based on a recent speech Trump gave, it seems like it’s truly happening. Because nothing says “happy 80th birthday!” like a UFC cage fight.
Per The Hill, at an event celebrating 250 years of the United States Navy, Trump unveiled his birthday plans — without actually mentioning that the UFC fight would coincide with his birthday. After highlighting some significant events that would occur during his second presidency, including the country’s 250th birthday, the 2026 World Cup, and the 2028 Summer Olympics, Trump mentioned the White House UFC fight as another significant event.
“On June 14, next year, we’re going to have a big UFC fight at the White House, right at the White House on the grounds,” he said. Initially, the event was reportedly slated for July 4, but now, instead of celebrating the country’s 250th birthday, the UFC fight will occur on Trump’s birthday instead.
Trump teased the event in July of this year. “We’re going to have a UFC fight, think of this, on the grounds of the White House,” he said at the time. “We have a lot of land there. We’re going to build a little — we’re not, [UFC President Dana White is] going to do it. Dana’s great. One of a kind.”
The cage fight will take place on the South Lawn of the White House, and the Trump administration has been hyping it up for some time now. Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung previously told The Wall Street Journal that the UFC fight (which now doubles as some sort of birthday party) “will be one of the greatest and most historic sports events in history.”
But critics had different opinions, with one person calling it “one of the most embarrassing moments in US history” and and others noting that it’s just “absurd.”
Several critics suggested that Trump is employing creative strategies to get people to show up for his birthday party. “Is this because nobody went to his birthday parade this year?” one person questioned. Another person added, “He has to hold non-birthday events on his birthday so he can feel like everyone is there for his birthday.”
