WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump marked his 80th birthday Sunday night with a celebration on the South Lawn, where 14 fighters from around the world battered one another inside a wire-mesh cage during the UFC Freedom 250 spectacle.Trump walked out of the Oval Office at around 8:30 p.m.ET alongside UFC CEO and president Dana White in what was best described as a fighter’s walkout. President Donald Trump and Dana White, UFC president and CEO, arrive for UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on June 14, 2026.
(Alex Brandon/AP)The estimated 4,300 in attendance, which included about 1,200 active-duty service members, greeted the president with loud cheers as the occasional "Happy Birthday" was shouted from the crowd. UFC SAYS IT WON’T PROFIT FROM WHITE HOUSE EVENT THAT COULD COST 'UPWARDS OF $60M'The event kicked off with the Marine Band’s performance of the national anthem, sung by Zac Brown, and was capped off with a flyover by the Navy’s Blue Angels and Air Force Thunderbirds."It was beyond anything that anybody's ever seen in sports," the president briefly remarked to reporters as he departed the White House ahead of Monday’s G7 summit in France. President Donald Trump watches at the conclusion of UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on June 15, 2026.(Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo)As expected, the crowd often broke out into "U-S-A!" chants multiple times throughout the evening.
It was most often heard during American Justin Gaethje’s thrilling main-card win over the previously undefeated Ilia Topuria. DANA WHITE SAYS 'I DON'T GIVE A S---' IF TRUMP FRIENDSHIP COSTS HIM BUSINESS, 250TH EVENT WAS TRUMP'S IDEAMany of the fighters thanked Trump for having the "courage" to put on the spectacle, while the majority of victors jogged ringside to shake his hand or have a word after their respective bouts.The patriotic atmosphere set the tone for the remaining America 250 celebrations to come in Was...